Steamies vs Diesels: Dawn of the Rebellion
by LoneDrifter213
Summary: A humanised story about a war between the Steamies and the Diesel. An evil empire donimates the world and a small band of rebels fight for freedom and to end its tyranny. Rated T for violence, death, swearing and other stuff.
1. Beginning

**This is a humanised story about a war for Sodor between Steam Engines and Diesels. There will violence, swearing and death, along with some other stuff.**

_A dark age had consumed the world, as an evil Empire had conquered almost every corner of the world. The Empire enforced brutal laws and oppression upon its subjects. Under the leadership of the tyrannical Emperor, Diesel 10, and his circle of trusted officers. The Diesel Empire ruled the world with an Iron fist._

_Despite that the Empire ruled through fear, there were those that resisted the tyranny of the Diesels. Individual cells of rebels formed across the world, in a desperate attempt to end the Empire and bring freedom to the world. However, many were destroyed by the overwhelming forces of the Diesels._

_Fortunately, there were those that resisted the Empire and survived against their attempts to destroy them. One such group came from deep within the heart of the Empire, on a small Island between England and the Isle of Man. The Island of Sodor, where only a few small cells battled the Empire, in their goal for freedom._

It was a busy day inside the town of Tidmouth, the sun shone brightly and there were sounds of the busy atmosphere. Aside from the garrison of troops from the Empire, stationed at checkpoints and patrolling the streets, there was a rather pleasant atmosphere in the air. The troops of the Empire stood out on the streets, thanks to their jet black armour that covered their bodies, black helmets that covered their heads but left their faces exposed, black vests covered their chest and hips with multiple pouches, and the weapons in their possession.

One group of soldiers were guarding a light armoured assault vehicle that's sole purpose was to put fear into the hearts of troublemakers and rebels. The vehicle had six wheels, two at the front and four at the back. Behind the bonnet was a two seat cab with a mounted machine gun turret behind the cab on the roof, and at the back was a space for troops to sit. The vehicle was black in colour, with the entire structure above bonnet level being an exposed metal frame.

The vehicle was in the middle of the town's centre where a rather large number of troops could be seen patrolling. However, it wasn't enough to stop the small group of six figures hiding in one of the few alleyways from carrying out their plan. One by one, each figure quietly slipped into and blended with the crowds, avoiding detection from the soldiers. All six had hoods covering their faces and hidden objects underneath their jackets. Three of the group had blue jackets, two had green and one had red.

The one wearing the red jacket, with the yellow number 5 on the front, and a small back pack on his back, quickly made his way towards the assault vehicle in the middle of the centre. He smiled underneath his hood as two guards walked away from the vehicle leaving one side completely open. Quickly and quietly, he snuck out of the crowd towards it, taking off his back pack as he did. When he was close enough, he pulled out three sticks of dynamite typed together. He placed them near the vehicle and lit the fuse with his firelighter. Quickly he ran away from the vehicle just as soldier saw him.

"Hey, you..." he shouted before he was caught in the explosion. There was a roar as the fire ball consumed the vehicle. Panic instantly set into the crowd and the sound of screaming could be heard everywhere, as the troops moved in.

Suddenly, the sound of gunfire echoed everywhere as soldiers of the Diesel Empire fell one by one. The panicked crowds dispersed as the six figures grouped together, with guns out opened fire on the Diesels. The two largest figures, one had a blue jacket with a yellow 4 and the other wore a green jacket with the number 3 in yellow, had large machine guns. The middle sized two, the figure in red and the other in blue with a yellow 2 on the back, both had semi automatic rifles similar to the Diesels, although more weathered and modified. The smallest two, with one wearing a green jacket with a large 6 on the front, and the other in blue with a yellow number 1, the figure in green had a one handed sub machine gun, while the other had two pistols.

The group battle across the centre, gunning down any and all soldiers that tried to shoot them. The group slowly made its way towards the alley from where they came from. The middle sized figures ran down the alley way as the other four fired on their enemy from within the cover of the alley.

The figure in red took off his back pack and started planting large, round disks along the alleyway. The other figure had run to the back of the alleyway and had started to open a manhole into the sewers for a quick escape. Near the entrance to the alleyway, the group was starting struggle against the seemingly endless force of Imperial Soldiers, they were low on ammo, and the more troopers arriving on the scene made in harder to return fire.

Suddenly, across the square came another Light Armoured Assault Vehicle. The gun on top opened fired at the group, forcing them to take cover in the alleyway.

"Edward!" yelled the large figure in blue, "Get that damn hole open before we die!"

"I'm nearly there, Gordon!" replied Edward, "Just hold them back for a few more minutes."

"We don't have any more minutes to give!" yelled the other large man, Henry.

Fortunately, Edward had finally got the hatch open and everyone started to fall back.

"Careful of the mines," shouted James, hoping to avoid blowing his allies up.

One by one, everyone entered the sewers, until only Gordon was left. After firing more bullets to stop any Diesels from coming after them yet, he entered the manhole and pulled the hatch over his head.

Outside, the Diesel forces maintained their position outside the entrance to the alleyway. There was an uneasy silence in the atmosphere, as there was no longer any return fire from the Rebels. Believing they were victorious, the Captain of the troops wanted to make sure they were dead.

"You five," he pointed at a squad of five troops, "Investigate the alleyway." He commanded.

The squad slowly set off down the alley, weapons drawn for a possible ambush. As they moved down, they could only see bins, rubbish and old cardboard boxes. Suddenly, there was the sound beeping, followed by an explosion, smoke burst off of the alley, shocking the troops outside. Another squad was sent in to recover any surviving squad members, only to discover that all five had been killed.

Meanwhile, in the sewers, the group of friends were walking along side the revolting river of filth. All six had removed their hoods as there was no need to disguise themselves. The youngest members of the group were Thomas and Percy; both were 20 years of age. Thomas had brown hair with blue eyes, while Percy had dark ginger hair with green eyes.

James was older than them but younger compared to the others, at the age of 24. He had short, spiky black hair with brown eyes. Henry was the next oldest, at 27 years old, he had short blonde hair and also had green eyes. Gordon was the second oldest of the group, aged 29, he had very short black hair. The oldest of the group was Edward, even though he was 35, Gordon and Henry thought he should have retired from the Rebel cell, while Thomas and Percy admired him for his actions and willingness to continue.

The group had all worked on the North Western Railway as drivers for Steam Engines, however when the Empire banned Steam Engines, the group refused to let that be and in secret started their own rebellion against the Diesels, calling themselves the Steam Engines. The group continued work on the Railway, but refused to drive the Diesels.

"Well, I think we really hurt the Diesels this week," said Thomas, feeling cherry.

"Yeah," agreed Percy, "We killed a load of bad guys and blew up one of their assault buggies."

"I blew it up!" boasted James, "After all I was the one who got hold of the Dynamite."

"Where it you get that stuff?" asked Henry.

"I try to steal some from the trains that go to those mines, when they're being refuelled," replied James.

"Well, even though we did succeed in causing confusion and delay for them," said Edward, who wasn't as cherry as the others, "I don't think it will stop them for long."

"And that's why you need to retire," said Gordon pompously, Edward just ignored him.

Later that day, at Tidmouth Station, a large, bald man was sitting in his office, looking through all sorts of paperwork, such as costs, wages, accident reports, supplies and other important information on the Railway. The man wore a black suit over a yellow waist coat, with a white shirt underneath, along with grey trousers. The sun was beginning to set outside his office window, where a hat stand with a single black top hat rested.

A sudden knock at the door pulled his attention away from the paper work, hoping it to be the very people he needed to see.

"Enter," he boomed. In stepped the six people he had been waiting to see.

"Alright Sir," said James, as he casually entered, followed by the other's who all greeted him in the appropriate manner of 'Sir'.

"Well lads," he began, "I hear you caused a bit of trouble for the Empire today."

"Sure did Sir," replied Percy, thinking back to skirmish in the town centre.

Sir Topham Hatt, also known as the Fat Controller, was the manager of the North Western Railway and secretly the leader of 'Steam Engine' Rebels. He had discovered his six employees plotting to rebel against the Diesel Empire, because of his hatred of the Empire and loyalty to his workers, Sir Topham Hatt joined their Rebellion and became their Intelligence Officer and Leader.

"Not long after your little scuffle, an officer came by my office," said the Fat Controller with a hint of anger in his voice, "Demanding that I delay my schedule to allow them to bring in reinforcements."

Everyone had a small grin in their faces, though things were going to be tougher, the Empire was becoming more and more worried by them.

"Anyway," said Sir Topham Hatt, "You done a good job today and deserve a good rest. You're all really useful 'engines'".

Everyone chuckled at the Fat Controllers joke, ever since they called themselves the Steam Engines; he had been constantly referring to them as engines instead of people.

Later, far away, a man in a black officer's uniform was walking down a corridor that had black metal walls and red carpet. The officer had dark black hair, with small black eyes and very pale white skin. At the end of the corridor, was a large door, guarded by two men who wore red armour with a black underlay, styled like medieval knights, holding a spear each. Both quickly came to attention as the officer approached. The officer walked past them and entered the door.

Through the door was a wide throne room, the walls, floor were black metal with a red carpet along the middle. Two large windows ran along the walls, with a third, smaller one at the back. At the far end was black metal throne on top of two steps. Sitting in the throne was a man wearing a brown trench coat, with a black shirt and trousers underneath, with black boots on his feet. His left hand was missing and had been replaced with a metal claw.

The officer stopped in front of the throne, and kneeled before the man sitting in it.

"Hail, Lord 10, Emperor of the Diesel Empire," said the Officer, loudly and clearly.

"Rise, Diesel, Supreme Commander of the Diesel Military," commanded Diesel 10.

Diesel stood up at once. Diesel had served Diesel 10 from the beginning, and in return, was made commander of the entire military.

"Why are you here?" asked Diesel 10.

"My lord, there have been more rebel outbreaks across our lands," began Diesel, Diesel 10 groaned in annoyance, "However, many of the distant cells are being dealt with swiftly and severely, but there are a few very close to the heart of the Empire."

"Where?" demanded Diesel 10.

"My lord, currently, they are on the Island of Sodor, though small, its landscape is capable of hiding rebel cells from us."

"Hunt down these Rebels, I don't want anything to ruin my power," commanded Diesel 10.

"Yes, my lord," replied Diesel, before he left.

It was late at night in Tidmouth, Thomas and Percy were walking home to their flat. Because finding a house was difficult, Thomas and Percy shared a cheap but poor flat in town, where they both shared rent. Sir Topham Hat bought it for them until he could arrange for a better place to live. Inside there was only, three rooms, a main room, a kitchen, and a bathroom/shower room. There was only a single bed in the main room and a couch, along with a small table and chest of drawers with a TV on top.

Tonight, it was Percy's turn to have the bed. After having a small amount of pasta for dinner and storing their weapons in a large box underneath the bed, both got changed into their sleep ware and went to bed. Percy crawled underneath the duvet of the bed, while Thomas lay down on the couch and pulled the grey blanket up to his chin.

"Night Thomas," said Percy.

"Goodnight Percy," replied Thomas.

Edward walked alongside the railway lines until he came to an old branch line coach beside the rails. It had been converted into a home for him by Sir Topham Hatt. Inside it was rather nice, with a single bed, a dining table, a small TV, a makeshift kitchen along with a shower and toilet, the only disadvantage was that it was too small.

Edward placed his weapons in a secret compartment underneath the floor and cooked himself a plate of sausages and beans. After finishing his meal, he lay down on his bed and switched the TV on, hoping to find something half interesting to watch.

Henry had arrived at what was his home, which was nothing more than an old caravan stuck in the middle of a field, near the railway. He had been forced out of his old home after he struggled to pay taxes. Sir Topham Hatt hat bought him a Caravan until better accommodations could be arranged. Inside were two sofas', a small table, a TV in the corner, a cooker, a fridge, a sink, along with a shower and a toilet.

Henry placed his weapons in an overhead storage and went to have a wash down. After which, Henry changed into some night wear and turn on the TV before going to bed.

Gordon also lived in a refurbished coach; still it was a small branch line with only enough room for one person. Inside was a single bed, a small table, cooking equipment, a TV and a shower room and toilet.

When Gordon had stashed away his Weapons, he pulled out a beer from the fridge and went outside, it was a quite with only the moon and the stars for company.

James was walking to his home near the edge of Tidmouth, unlike the other's he lived in a house, which he shared with his girlfriend. Unlocking the door, James entered his house. The house had a living room, a kitchen, a dining room, a bathroom and a bedroom.

"I'm home," called James, hoping to hear from his girlfriend. Then, coming out of the living room, was a woman with fair skin, long black hair, green eyes and a noticeable bust. She was wearing a dark green dressing gown that went to her knees, below which she appeared to be wearing black stockings.

"Your late, James," she said with a playful pout.

"Sorry Emily," said James as he moved into kiss her "Is there anything I can do to make you better."

"Well," she said, pretending to think, "I think you can give me a 'fun' night tonight."

"Then go on up, I'll be there in a minute," he replied.

Emily gave James a sexy wink and slowly walked up the stairs. James quickly hid his weapons in a box underneath the stairs, before running to the bedroom for some fun.

**Well, that's chapter 1, say what you think, and if you have any ideas for events, couples and the like leave in the reviews section.**


	2. Train Raid

**Here's chapter 2, R&R because it is appreciated.**

It was early morning when Thomas woke up on the couch, he could see the sun just beginning to rise outside his window. Percy was still asleep, which wasn't surprising, whenever Thomas slept in the bed, it was nearly impossible to wake him up.

"Come on Percy," said Thomas, shaking his friend, "Up you get."

After a few seconds, Percy's eyes started to open.

"Uh..." he groaned, "What time is it?"

"Time you were up," replied Thomas cheekily, Percy just groaned in response.

After getting dressed, the two men had their breakfast, gathered some of their weapons, left the flat and ran down the road to the nearest bus stop. They waited there for ten minutes, until they saw a red Regal London Country Bus. After it pulled in both greeted the driver, a short man with black hair and was wearing a red uniform.

"Morning you two," the bus driver greeted with a smile.

"Morning Bertie," said Thomas.

"Hey Bertie," said Percy, "Two tickets to Tidmouth Station."

Bertie gave them the tickets and Percy gave him the money. The pair sat down in the seats behind Bertie. Most of the seats were empty on the bus, with the occasional person sitting by themselves, looking at the other passengers with suspicion.

At Tidmouth Station, the Fat Controller was in his office, the new day was going to be a busy day, though the only piece of consolation would be that the Diesels would chose not to make any more delays and cancellations to the Railways timetable.

Unfortunately, a knock at the door proved otherwise, before he could even ask the person to enter. The door swung open and in stepped a military officer, he was wearing a dark green officer's uniform with yellow trim, and a green and yellow peeked cap was tucked in underneath his left shoulder. On both of his shoulders were two gold patches of a claw, it was the Mark of Diesel 10, which gave any military official certain exception's depending on rank.

"Sir Topham Hatt," began the Officer, "I am Colonel Class 40 D261, of the 3rd Diesel Army."

"Greetings, Colonel," said Sir Topham Hatt putting on a fake smile, he got up from his desk and held out his hand, the Colonel gave his hand a look as if it was covered with filth and disease; Sir Topham Hatt withdrew his hand and returned to his seat.

"Why are you here then?" asked the Fat Controller, already angered by this Officer.

"Well, at precisely 8 o'clock this afternoon, an important military supply train will be coming in from Barrow and will be travelling across the mainline, it will be stopping at all stations on the mainline, and other trains will transport the cargo along all the branch lines. You will halt all other trains until this procedure has been completed."

"But that will cause confusion and delay for the entire Railway," shouted Sir Topham Hatt on impulse, "I'm sorry but this is my Railway and I make the orders, so I cannot go through with your request."

The Colonel's face showed signs of suppressed anger, clearly not impressed to have his authority challenged by some railway boss.

"Listen hear, fat man," said Class 40, pointing his finger at the Fat Controller in a threatening manner, "How dare you disobey the command of a senior officer in the Diesel Military! You might be in charge of this railway, but the Empire is in charge of everything within its borders, so you answer to the military, you answer to me."

"Very well," said Sir Topham Hatt with a sigh, given into defeat.

"Good, it would be wise to remember your place in future."

Class 40 turned on his heels and left the office to the station. As he walked along the platform, he noticed five workmen wearing blue overalls, with brown coveralls over the top. The group watched him disappear into the crowds of passengers and staff, before entering the office. Inside the workmen found their boss hunched over with his head in his hands.

"Morning Sir," said Thomas, but regretted that he said anything, as Sir Topham Hatt looked up at them in despair.

"Morning gents," he said with another sigh.

"Is there a problem sir?" asked Gordon.

"Yes, if you saw the officer outside, he told me to cancel all trains at 8 o'clock so they could have supply trains on the lines, meaning I'm going to have to delay everything till they are finished."

Everyone had a look of shock and anger on their faces, the Diesels were always doing this and it endangered the railway. Edward, however, realised how lucky they were to have such an opportunity

"If you think about it, it's not that bad," said Edward, everyone gave him a look of shock.

"Are you fucking mad?" shouted Gordon; everyone hushed him before anyone outside heard.

"Seriously Edward, How can this not be bad?" asked Percy.

"Think about it," replied Edward, "The Empire is sending a supply train along the main line, if we can intercept it, we can get a resupply of resources, destroy what we can't take and the Empire is going to struggle to replace that lost equipment."

Everyone nodded with realisation and began grinning with delight at their newest scheme.

"Well then," said Sir Topham Hatt, "since there is some repair work that needs to done on the line at Cronk. You should get up there and wait."

"Hold on," said Henry suddenly, "Where's James?"

Everyone looked at the other with blank faces, completely clueless for where James was. Suddenly, as if on cue, a tired James stumbled through the door of the Fat Controller's office. Everyone stared as the tired man wandered up to them.

"Morning," said James, "Sorry I'm late sir." Sir Topham Hatt rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Why were you late James?" asked Thomas, who was just as annoyed.

"Me and Emily had a very...special night last night," said James with a silly grin, everyone sighed at what he meant.

"Emily doesn't know that...you're a freedom fighter," said Sir Topham Hatt in a concerned voice.

"No, that's something I wish she rather didn't know," replied James.

"Well, all of you get to work, and fill in James about tonight," said Sir Topham Hatt, as he returned to sheets on his desk. Everyone said good bye and left his office.

Half an hour later, the six rebels had small tool boxes in hand and were boarding a maintenance train, which consisted of two; olive green cranes with a green flatbed in-between them that had several rails and sleepers stacked on top. Behind the cranes was a dark green workman's coach, with a black brakevan on the end of the train. At the front of the train, was a BR Class 40 1Co-Co1, which was painted rail blue with yellow warning panels at each end.

James gave the vehicle an angry look before getting he got on board. The workmen sat as close together as possible, with Thomas and James sitting together, Edward sitting with Percy, and Gordon and Henry sitting together.

There was the sound of a loud whistle, before the train slowly moved off, with a slight jerk. Soon, the workmen's train had left the station and was picking up speed. When sure no one was paying attention, Thomas and James began whispering.

"So any ideas?" asked Thomas, James began to think.

"Maybe, we could alter the signals to stop the train, and then steal the train and the supplies," suggested James before a small yawn.

"Sounds good," said Thomas, "And you need to get some more sleep."

"Why do you say that?" said James before yawning much louder than before.

"Because you're wasting your nights," replied Thomas, James just smiled.

"Well Thomas, when you get a girlfriend, you won't be sleeping as much as you used to," said James, with a cocky smile.

"I don't think I'll ever meet the right one," said Thomas who felt slightly sad.

"It's not all that good, though," said James, sadly. Thomas listened closely. "All Emily knows is that I'm workman on the NWR, I worried that if I get killed, what would she do?"

"Don't worry, you keep looking after her, then no harm will come to her," said Thomas, trying to boost James' confidence. James nodded in reply.

After an hour on the rails, the works train had finally stopped in a siding, next to Cronk station. On the track next to them, was the set of track they were meant to be working on. A closer look revealed that there were small groves in the track, and the fishplates were damaged. Everyone got out of the coach, before cranes unloaded the new track and sleepers.

"Well then," said Edward, "Let's get to work."

At Vicarstown station, it was half past 8 and the sun was beginning to set. The station was devoid of any life, apart from the large presence of Imperial soldiers, guarding the station for the supply train. Alongside the soldier's were several officers wearing their black uniform with white trim.

"When will the train be here, sir?" asked one of the younger officers.

"It another ten to fifteen minutes most likely," replied one of the senior officers, looking at his watch.

After another ten minutes past, they heard the sound of a horn as a rail blue, BR Class 31 Diesel Locomotive, rolled into the station. It was pulling a long train of five armoured coaches, twenty storage vans, three flatbeds that had a large number of wooden boxes covered by a dark green tarp, and a brakevan at the end. The soldier's briefly turned their attention to the train before resuming their security patrols. Workmen wearing black overalls approached the train and began to unload the cargo.

Suddenly, there were several flashes of bright light, followed by the roar of explosions and the crack of gun fire. Everyone was on full alert as a group of twenty figures, wearing dirty civilian clothes and armed with stolen diesel weapons appeared of the shadows.

"REBELS!" yelled a trooper.

"Open Fire," commanded one of the officers.

Within seconds, the station had become a battlefield, with the Diesels making a stand from the platform, and the rebels closing in from the surrounding areas to make it to the train. Five were fighting from the station building, another five fought from the greenery near the station and the remaining ten stormed along the track.

What advantage the rebels had gained from their explosives and sudden attack over the Diesels had quickly vanished, the Imperial troops were able to reorganise themselves and fight back against the attacking Rebels. Within seconds, the tide of battle had turned in favour of the Diesels; three rebels hiding in the greenery were killed, four inside the station died and six of the ten on the line were slaughtered. The survivors instantly abandoned their attack and fled, the Diesels maintained their defensive formation until an officer saw the situation.

"Hunt them down," he commanded, "And unload our supplies, so we can get this thing moving."

With the needed supplies unloaded and dead bodies moved away. The supply train continued on its journey.

Later, further on down the line, between Cronk and Maron, the Steam Engines were waiting to spring their trap on the supply train. Edward had taken a train back to Tidmouth and had returned with their equipment in an old Land Rover Discovery. Their plan involved taking control of a signal box that was above the mainline junction connected to a branch line, by drugging the signalman to sleep, then stopping the train with a red signal, before raiding the train to finish the crew. It was a dark night, with very few stars in the sky.

Everyone was hidden in the nearby bushes, except Edward who was in the signal box, the signal was red, and all they had to do now was wait. Then suddenly, they heard the sound of a loud horn, followed by a rattling on the tracks. Around the corner they could see bright white lights coming down the line. The Diesels shape was coming into view, and the rail blue colour could be faintly seen. There was a loud screeching sound and sparks fell from the tracks as the engine came applied its brakes. The group quickly and quietly approached the train while it was stationary.

Suddenly, a door on one of the coaches ahead burst open, and three soldiers stepped out. They were shouting towards the driver about stopping and the red signal, the three soldiers then made their way towards the signal box. James pulled out a walky-talky to contact Edward.

"Edward, three goons are headed your way," said James.

"I see that, you guys get on that train, I'll deal with them," replied Edward.

The group made their way towards the brake van at the back of the train. Gordon snuck on first; he quietly opened the door to the brakevan, inside was the guard and a soldier, drinking hot cups of coffee. Gordon took a knife out of his pocket, and silently entered the cabin. The two men didn't notice him enter. Using what little time he had, Gordon stabbed the guard in the chest and tackled the soldier to the ground. The pair fought each other until Gordon grabbed his neck and snapped it.

Outside, the three soldiers were making their way up towards the signal box that was fairly lit. Inside they could see a man in his thirties, who was looking down at the train, seemingly ignoring them. Believing him to be the signal man, the three made their way to the door, and entered.

"Hey, what are you…" the guard shouted, before being cut off by a barrage of bullet fire. The second soldier failed to find cover and was gunned down as well. The third however had ducked behind the side of the doorway, realising they had been ambushed.

"REBELS!" he yelled as loud as he could. Upon hearing his yell, Imperial Soldiers descended from the train and spotted the group by the brakevan.

"There they are, open Fire!" commanded a Soldier, followed by the troopers firing at the group. Everyone quickly scrambled on to the brakevan and returned fire.

Up in the signal box, the trooper had jumped from his cover and tackled Edward to the ground. He threw two punches into Edwards face. Edward punched the soldier in the nose, and pushed him off onto the floor. Quickly he got up and hauled the trooper up; who head butted him on the fore head. The pain was worse since the helmet increase the blow.

The trooper then kneed Edward in the gut, and then pushed him into the levers that controlled the track. Edward collided with the levers; the force from the impact forced one fall backwards, changing the points in front of the train below onto an old closed branch line.

The driver heard the sound of the gunfire from outside. Realising they had fallen into a trap and needed to leave, he disengaged the Diesels brakes, and the diesel began to slowly crawl away from the scene, unaware that the line had been changed. The troops outside noticed the train slowly, moving and dashed back to the coaches or the flatbeds.

Edward continued to receive punch after punch from the trooper, who grabbed him and threw him into the wall. The trooper charged at the dizzy Edward, Edward had enough focus to see him and quickly dashed to the left. The trooper zipped past and collided with the window, the glass cracked from the impact and stunned the trooper. Seeing his chance, Edward pushed the diesel through the window smashing it, then lifted up his legs for him to fall out. As the trooper's body landed, Edward looked to see the diesel heading down the closed branch line.

The branch line hadn't been used for a very long time, so there was bound to be trouble with the line and overgrown environment. Edward cursed under his breath and fled the signal box, and ran back to his Land Rover to maintain pursuit. On the train, the group was planning their next move.

"Here's my plan," said Gordon, "we run along the roofs of the vans and fight our way to the Diesel. Once there, we bring this thing to a stop, take out anyone we missed and finally ransack the train."

Before anyone could reply, there was a sudden jolt and a bump from the rattling brakevan. Percy got up and ran outside to see what was happening, he returned a second later.

"I think were on a closed branch line," said Percy, "There looks like a lot of trees and bushes have grown over the line, and the track we all ready pasted is completely rusted."

"Looks like we're going to have to be quick, in case this track crumbles underneath us," said Thomas.

Everyone agreed and scrambled out of the brakevan, first Henry clambered on top of the vans, being careful to avoid low hand branches. He was followed by James, then Percy, then Thomas with Gordon being last. The group ran across the top of the vans until they reached the flatbeds, where several troops were stationed.

"THERE THEY ARE!" shouted one as the rest opened fire. Thomas, Percy and James all dropped down to cover behind the crates on the flat bed, while Gordon and Henry covered them. When the three reached cover, they returned fire to let Gordon and Henry to drop down. The gunfight continued with, the Imperial troops getting picked off one by one, meaning they were most likely rookies.

Soon the troops on the first flat bed were killed, the group moved up half way while shooting at the troops on the second and third. James opened a small metal crate and pulled out a grenade. He removed the pin, and chucked the grenade. It bounced onto the second flatbed but bounced backwards towards the guys. Everyone took cover as it exploded, sending pieces of hot metal in all directions. Luckily, no one was injured from the blast, but was now pinned down by the barrage of enemy fire. In a daring move, Thomas jumped out from behind his spot of cover and fired his dual pistols at whatever troops he could see. A few troops stopped firing to get to cover, allowing the rebels to spring out and charge across the second flatbed.

Another sudden jolt shook the train, followed by the sound of tracks beneath them groaning from the weight of the train. Unbeknownst to everyone but the driver, the brakes on the diesel had jammed and weren't able to stop the Diesel. Worse, a few miles ahead was a sharp bend that required any train to go round slowly, but with the speeds they were going at and the condition of the rails, there was going to be a disaster.

The rebels had now taken the second flat bed, and were fighting for the control of the third. Unlike the others, these troops had formed a defensive formation near the entrance to the armoured coach, and were holding out against the rebel attack. However, as they continued to fight, the rebels had switched to using the equipment that was in the crates of the other flatbeds, and were wearing down the defensive formation.

The Sergeant in charge of the troops on the flat bed realised they needed to fall back, so he hatched a plan to trap the rebels. They planted some explosives at the very end of the flatbed, their plan was to retreat into coach, have the rebels follow them, and then blow them up.

When the explosives were set, the Imperial Troops quickly fled the flatbed into the safety of the coach. The rebels saw them retreat and pursued them; they dashed across the third flat bed without encountering any incoming fire from the Diesels. Suddenly, a bright ball of fire erupted in front of them, everyone instantly dropped to the floor as hot pieces of metal flew overhead. The heat from the blast was burning the rebels. Everyone looked up to see the armoured coach moving away from them slowly.

The blast had destroyed the coupling between the flatbed and the coach, the train ahead was starting to pull away from the flatbed. Again there was another sound of metal groaning from the rails as they struggled against the weight.

"Gordon, get back to the brakevan and activate the brakes," said Thomas, realising the danger they were in.

"We can't let them get away," argued Gordon, who wanted to make sure no Diesel survived.

"Better live to see another day than die pointlessly," replied Thomas, Gordon just grumbled before running off back towards the brakevan. As he climbed on top of the vans, everyone looked ahead to see the Diesel part of the train in the distance.

Suddenly, there was the echo of metal snapping, and ahead, the Steam Engines could see the front part disappear from their view, followed by the distant sound of a crash. Panic set into the Steam Engines as their train of rolling stock came closer and closer to the crash site. Gordon continued on his way to the brakevan, even faster than before.

Soon he reached the brakevan and found the brake lever. Using all of his strength, Gordon engaged the brakes; there was a loud ear piercing screech from the break vans wheels as it tried to stop the entire train.

Slowly, the runaway rolling stock decreased its speed, but continued to move closer to where the front had crashed. The track ahead ran round a bed before what was possibly a steep slope, had completely fallen apart due to severe rusting, damage sleepers and worn away ballast.

Eventually, the remains of the train had come to a stop; everyone could breathe a sigh of relief. When Gordon returned, the five men walked to the edge of the broken line, when they arrived, they were startled by the sight. At the bottom of the slope, was a large pile up of dented couches and a wrecked Diesel, a few dead bodies and pieces of twisted metal were scattered everywhere.

After God knows how long they had been standing there, they could hear footsteps plodding along behind them. Swiftly everyone turned round and aimed their Weapons at whoever was behind them.

"Put them away lads," moaned a beaten and bloody Edward, "You all look ridicules!"

"You can talk," said Percy cheekily. Everyone laughed.

"Come on," said Edward, "Let's do some shopping!" Everyone chuckled at Edwards joke.

Soon, six crates of weapons and ammunition had been stashed away inside the boot of Edwards Land Rover. Thomas, Percy, James and Henry were forced to sit in the back, with a seventh crate full of body armour on their laps. However, everyone talked about their spoils for their newest act of defiance as they began the long journey home to Tidmouth.

**Well, here's chapter 2, I hope you like it and please review so I know someone is reading this. And again, I would like to hear your input for ideas. Like pairings, missions, adventures, anything really, I'll try to fit them in even if they don't appear till a later chapter.**

**So read & review and I hope to hear from you.**


	3. Winter on Sodor

Winter had come to the Island of Sodor, as thick white snow covered the ground. This caused delays for everyone, including the Diesel Military and the rebels scattered across the Island. Delays were affecting the roads, the railway and other aspects of life and with the military forces of the Empire taking priority, very few solutions appeared. However, the rebels faired a lot better in these conditions, since they required less resources to operate compared to the military might of the Diesel Empire.

In recent months, the Empire had been cracking down on the various rebellions that had appeared. Arresting anyone who was believed to be a rebel or rebel synthesiser, raids had become more common in searching for rebels or anyone in possession of illegal weapons. For the Steam Engines of Tidmouth, this proved to be a big worry, since they had successfully robbed an engine full of weapons, they needed a secure place for their stash.

Fortunately, Henry had been working in the yard at Tidmouth, when he had discovered an old goods van, abandoned in the far corner of the yard. Because of its seclusion and relatively good condition, the team decided to use it to store their equipment and use as a hideout.

Inside the van, were several crates stacked against the side with a few opened ones scattered across the floor. The only light inside came from a small lantern on top of a crate, where a large map of Tidmouth lay and was surround by the Steam Engines. They were planning another attack against the Diesels. This time they were going after a fuel depot near the outskirts of town, their plan was to sneak in, plant some radio controlled bombs they had stolen from the Diesels, sneak out and watch the fireworks.

"So, does everyone know what to do?" asked Edward, everyone nodded. There was an uneasy feeling in the atmosphere, since the Steam Engines had been becoming more and more defiant in their attacks, the Diesels had started sending more and more troops into the town, making it difficult to operate.

"Are you sure that the Fat Controller was thinking straight when he said we should do this," asked James, "It's fucked up if you ask me."

"The Diesels require fuel to help keep them moving," replied Thomas, "Without it, they're going to struggle, especially in this weather."

"What is the Fat Controller doing, anyway?" asked Gordon.

"He's researching into other Rebels on the Island," replied Edward "Hopes to find us some allies."

"Yeah, well he isn't the one out getting his ass shot at," fumed Henry.

"Look, he has to keep his work with us secret," defended Thomas.

"Exactly, if the Empire found out, they would kill him and control the railway," Percy pointed out; the others all had looks of regret on their faces.

"Now then," said Edward, "Back to the task at hand, since the Diesels upped their presence in town with large numbers of troops and vehicles, to lose a large amount of fuel will greatly weaken their forces."

"Yeah, but," interrupted James, "They also would of realised that, and have tight security."

"If we succeed in planting the explosives and sneak out," said Thomas, "We'll weaken their garrison, and strain their forces."

"We need every victory to count," said Edward, "Only then will the people be truly brave to revolt against Diesel 10 and his forces."

Everyone agreed with what Edward had said.

"We'll attack at midnight," said Thomas, "Until then we better rest."

Quietly, they opened the door to the van, checked to make sure it was clear, before sneaking off to resume their normal lives. Today was a day off from work and so they were planning to do just that.

Gordon and Henry were walking through the snowy streets of Tidmouth, both heading for their favourite pub, 'The Night Train'. Inside there was quite a few people, drinking alcohol and having a laugh, even in these grim times. The pair approached barman at the counter, who was cleaning some glasses.

"Alright Lads," he said as the two approached, "What would you like?"

"I'll have a pint of larger," said Gordon.

"Same here," said Henry.

The barman poured two pints of larger and handed them over, Gordon paid for the drinks and the two went to sit in a quiet corner. They sat a small table with two chairs and began to chat about anything that came to mind.

"Remember when we would all come here to drink after a hard day's work," said Henry, with a small smile.

"Yeah, coming in covered coal dust, and having a well earned pint," said Gordon grandly after taking a sip.

Meanwhile, James was running through the snow buried streets, the snow crunching under his boots as he ran home, trying to avoid slipping on any ice. When he got inside, he hung his winter coat on a hook and went into the sitting room. There he found Emily sitting on the couch, wearing a dark green long sleeved shirt, black trousers and socks, watching TV.

She smiled when she saw him, lying down on the couch; she beckoned him to come closer with her finger. James grinned and leaped into the free space beside her; he then crawled on top of her and pressed his lips against hers, while running his hands along her sides. James soon moved his lips away from hers, and moved to her neck, Emily moaned from the feeling, she moaned even louder as James put his hands underneath her shirt, and brought them up to her breasts.

"Oh James," she moaned, "We...we really shouldn't...be doing this...here, someone might see."

"I know," said James, "But you're so...arousing."

"Well, maybe later," said Emily through another moan, "I can treat you to something special."

James smiled as he continued to massage Emily. After a few minutes, James removed his hands and sat. Emily also sat up and snuggled up to James, as they both watched TV.

"I've heard there've been more attacks recently," said Emily, James was now feeling uncomfortable.

"So have I, and the Empire is making things worse," replied James, trying not to sound biased.

"It's not just the Empire," said Emily, "The rebels are to blame as well." James was surprised to hear this, especially from Emily.

"What makes you say that?" asked James.

"The Empire uses the Rebels as an excuse for them to be even more aggressive," said Emily angrily, "And the Empire was bad enough before the rebels came."

"The rebels are fighting for our freedom Emily," argued James, "The Empire got this coming to them."

"I know you hate the Empire James, I hate them as well," said Emily, "But every day, I worry about you, what if you were walking down a street and the Rebels attack, you could get killed in the cross fire."

Tears began to flow down her cheeks; James wrapped his arms around her.

"Don't worry," he reassured her, "No rebel is going to kill me."

Outside, Thomas and Percy were shovelling snow off the footpath of a person's house. Though it was their day off, they still needed to pay for rent and food and that required them finding work where ever possible. It was their seventh house today they had cleared snow away, and after receiving their pay, moved on.

"It's unfair isn't it," moaned Percy.

"What is?" asked Thomas who was confused.

"Well, we're fighting for freedom but are forced to work in the snow on our day off," grumbled Percy, as he shifted more snow.

"Would you rather like it if the Empire knew and we had to constantly run?" countered Thomas, Percy was quiet after that.

Meanwhile, Edward was returning to the van, with a large rucksack on his back. When he was sure he was alone, he opened the side door to the van and clambered inside. He took off his back pack and stashed away what he had, some food, medicine and first aid supplies, some sleeping bags and a tent.

Edward had always been worried about being discovered by the Empire, so had been planning for such an event by gathering supplies. If the Empire discovered the identity of one member, they could at least be supplied before heading out to escape.

Meanwhile, out in the open sea north of the Island of Sodor, was a lone _Destroyer-Elite_ class warship of the Diesels Imperial Navy, patrolling the waters for pirates, and unlicensed ships. Approaching the ship was a black transport helicopter. It hovered above the landing pad at the back of the ship, before gently lowering on to the platform.

The side door of the helicopter opened, and out stepped a woman with blonde hair tied up, wearing of a black officer's uniform, that consisted of a black coat, black skirt, with black tights and shoes, on the sleeves of her coat, was the _Golden Claw _Badge, Diesel 10's personal award. It her hands she carried a grey folder. She walked across the platform towards a squad of marine's standing at the end of the pad. The groups Sergeant notice her coming and saluted, the officer saluted in return.

"Where is your Captain, Sergeant?" asked the officer.

"Ma'am, the Captain is on the bridge," replied the Sergeant.

"Was he not informed of my arrival?" asked the officer in a stern voice.

"He was Ma'am, but he chooses to remain on the bridge, Ma'am."

The officer huffed and entered the warship, heading for the bridge. She walked along narrow metal corridors and up metal staircases. Finally, at the end of the last corridor, was with the word Bridge above it. The officer walked down the corridor and opened the door to the bridge.

Inside the bridge was a large front window, with computers, radar, and other pieces of equipment. Five crewmen were on the bridge, all looking at computers and other pieces of equipment, another two were standing by the ships helm, one was controlling the helm, while the other was instructing him.

The Instructor wore a red officer's uniform with yellow trim, a red cap with yellow trim and black peck; he had short black hair and black boots. Attached to his belt, was an historic officer's sword, and on his sleeves was the _Golden Claw_. He was so busy instructing the man at the helm, he didn't notice the other officer enter the bridge.

"ARRGH! Good work matey, now turn her gently port side," he boomed, the helmsman did as he was commanded.

"Captain Salty," yelled the female officer. Salty spun round to see the Officer; he gave her a toothy grin, and received a stern glare in return.

"Ahoy, Colonel Mavis," greeted Salty, "What do I owe this pleasure?"

"I am here to inspect your ship and crew," informed Mavis.

"Then lets us take this to my quarters for further discussion, in private," suggested Salty.

Mavis nodded her head in agreement, and Salty lead her to his quarters. Inside was a single bed with a desk and two chairs next to it. Both of them sat down and removed their caps, Mavis placed the folder on the desk.

"Feels like being back at the Academy, doesn't Matey?" said Salty, remembering.

Mavis just ignored him and those memories that came with it.

"Come on you must remember?" urged Salty, "ARRGH, we sure had some fun times together, didn't we?"

"That was before we were we graduated," replied an annoyed Mavis, "I admit I did enjoy our 'nights' together, but we have a professional working relationship. Now, this report..."

"Very well, Matey," said Salty, "The _Spirit of the Sea_ has been operating at 200% efficiency, though that's not a surprise for the finest ship in the Navy, like her sisters that were never made." Salty's voice was filled with sadness at the last part.

"And what of your crew?" asked Mavis.

"ARRGH, what can I say about me crew?" said a proud Salty, "They're the finest in their line of work, all of them handpicked by me. No one comes to work on my ship if they're not good and experienced at their job."

"Well, that's the personal statement you've made," said Mavis, "Now let's see if that's true."

Both of them got up from their seats and exited Salty's quarters. However, before they could set off to inspect the ship. One of the crewmen was running down the corridor.

"Sir! SIR!" he yelled at the top of his voice, before stopping in front of the Captain, "There's an unidentified ship off the starboard bow."

The three of them ran to the bridge, Salty pulled out a telescope from his jacket. Looking down the telescope, Salty saw what appeared to be a cargo ship, loaded with stacks of containers cutting across their path. The ship was grey in colour and was similar in shape to a Diesel Navy transport ship.

"It's a cargo ship from our navy," said Salty, annoyed that this crew would be so foolish, especially during an inspection.

"But Captain," said his first mate, "There no shipping lanes in this area."

Salty was now concerned about this mysterious ship, he returned the telescope to his eye, and looked at the ship again. On the ship's bow, he caught sight of writing, _The Cursed Treasure_, a ship he had seen before. That ship had once been part of an Imperial Fleet; it had been raided and stolen by pirates.

"BATTELSTATION'S!" commanded Salty, everyone on the bridge immediately got to their post on the bridge as an alarm sounded. Suddenly, there was the loud roar of running footsteps banging against the metal floor as all of the crewmen scattered to their positions.

"Helmsman, head straight for the ship, full power," commanded Salty. The helmsman complied and moved the ship to the starboard side, before applying full power to the ships speed.

The enormous ship had within moments picked up speed, was now charging directly at the stolen cargo ship. Large waves splashed against the side of the ship as it closed in on the target. Outside on the ship's deck, the crew were manning the gun turrets as the marine's maintained position along the edge of the deck.

On the bridge of _The Cursed Treasure_, the crew were watching the equipment and carefully guiding the ship. They were smugglers who had stolen a Cargo ship a long time ago, and had been using it to smuggle in well needed supplies such as food, medicine and other needed goods, for people suffering under the cruelty of the Diesel Empire.

The Captain of the ship was a veteran sailor, having served as a coastguard and after witnessing the cruelty of the Empire, had chosen to become a smuggler to aid people suffering under their regime. Captain had blonde hair, a yellow jacket and blue trousers from his days as a lifeguard, with yellow boots.

It was rather quite on the bridge; they had just stolen more supplies from the Diesels and now were transporting them to the Island of Sodor. Unlike previous raids, this time they had stolen a large shipment of weapons and munitions, along with their normal loot, hoping to trade some of the weapons away to possible rebels on Sodor, or use them for more raids. One of the crewmen was sitting in front of the radar, when it suddenly started beeping; the crewman looked at it to see what it had detected.

"Captain!" yelled the Crewman, "We've got an incoming ship on our port side."

Captain walked over to the port outside door of the bridge. Opening it, he looked out across the waves to see a large battle ship, charging its way through the water. Its speed was incredible, as it moved across the waves without hindrance. Captain knew what to it was doing, it was going to attack.

"EVERYONE, GRAB A WEAPON AND PREPARE FOR BATTLE!" ordered Captain, his crew scattered to arm themselves and repel their attackers.

On the _Spirit of the Sea_, Salty was waiting; he had put on body armour over his uniform, with his jacket over his armour. On his belt were a sword in its holster on his left side, and a pistol in its holster on his right. His ship was now charging directly at the cargo ship and everyone was in position. Mavis approached him, full of questions about his strategy.

"What are you doing?" she yelled, "Just sink that ship with your cannons."

"Arrgh, and waste good ammo," complained Salty. Soon, they could see several bright lights from the cargo ship. Suddenly, explosions and water flashed in front of the ship, causing it to shake. Salty pulled out his telescope and looked at the cargo ship.

On the ship's deck, he could see men and women running across the deck, most of them were armed with some sort of weapon, and others were holding rocket launchers, preparing for a second wave.

"Heavy weapons," cursed Salty.

"Have your cannons fire on the ship Captain," ordered Mavis, "Sink it before the crew can do more damage."

"No," said Salty firmly, and he activated the ships speaker system. "All crew, prepare for boarding process."

"What are you planning, Salty?" yelled Mavis, angered that Salty would consider such an act.

Salty, however, didn't reply, instead he turned around and left the Bridge.

On the bridge of _The Cursed Treasure_, Captain watched as his crew readied to fire again, their rocket launchers had done very little damage to the ship. And now it was closer, some of the men had opened fire on the soldiers on the battleships deck, who were also firing on his crew.

As the ship drew closer and closer, Captain realised what it was going to do. Quickly, he grabbed onto the radar and braced himself for impact. Suddenly, there was a loud bang as the battle ship rammed into the cargo ship. Captain looked out to see that the bow of the ship had ripped into the deck of the cargo ship. All he could do was watch as his crew fought and died as the Diesel Marines boarded the ship and slaughtered the crew.

Salty was now running across the deck of his ship, his troops were boarding the enemy ship and he was going to join them in this assault. He jumped from the bow of his ship and landed on the deck of the cargo ship. All around him, he could see both groups fighting it out on deck, with the Diesels armed with well maintained modern rifles, while the pirates used guns both modern and old, along with clubs, fire axes and knifes.

Salty watched as a pirate ran across the tops of several containers, with a fire axe in hand. He leaped off the container and landed on top of a marine, slamming the axe into him as he fell, screaming from the pain.

The pirate removed his axe and caught sight of Salty, with axe in hand, he charged at the Diesel Captain. Salty drew his pistol and fired at the pirate. The man dropped to the floor dead. Salty ignored the body and charged in the direction of the bridge, fighting his way through the countless numbers of villains to reach the bridge, with four troops guarding his back.

Salty and his troops fought their way to the bridge, despite only losing one man, their enemy was being slaughtered. They fought on the stair case, until they reached the corridor that lead to the bridge, guarded by rebel pirates.

The guards were swiftly dealt with by the well trained Imperial troops, all that stood between them and the bridge now, was a single steel door. Salty ordered one of the troops to open the door, when he did, a barrage of bullet fire struck down the trooper as the door fell open.

As the crew reloaded their weapons, the group charged into the bridge, guns blazing. Within moments, the entire crew on the bridge was defeated. Salty and his remaining troops stood proudly, at the fact they had removed more enemies of the glorious Diesel Empire.

Suddenly, there was a loud gunshot and one of the troopers fell to the floor. Salty spun round to see the other trooper get stabbed through the chest by an officer's sword. The wielder removed the sword and struck at Salty, who blocked it with his sword.

"Get off my Ship," growled Captain, as he brought his sword back for another swing.

"You stole this ship, pirate," roared Salty, as he blocked the swing

"PIRATE!" roared Captain angrily, "I'm no pirate, I come from a line of good honest sailors. You Diesels are the pirates."

"How dare you?" yelled Salty, offended, "My family have always been true great sailors."

The two men exchanged strikes with their swords, despite the equal level of skill, Salty was holding out. Captain thrust his sword at him, only for it to be countered. Seeing his chance, Salty punched Captain the side and knocked him to the floor, sending his sword flying to the other side of the room.

"Your kind terrorise the sea, destabilising the navy," shouted Salty, pointing his sword at his throat. Captain refused to be threatened.

"Do you think you do any good by what you do?" asked Captain, "You blockaded Islands, leaving the inhabitants to starve and die just to show you had power."

Salty twitched slightly, he had heard stories of such actions, but believed then to be lies.

"And you take the sea away from the world; restrict its use to your own purposes. The sea belongs to everyone," argued Captain.

Salty was at a loss for words, had he been supporting an evil that had been using his beloved sea for evil? Before he could even think, a squad of troops burst into the bridge.

"Sir, all hostiles have been dealt with, we have been able to capture some prisoners, what should we do with them?" asked a Trooper.

"Take them aboard and place them in the cells," commanded Salty, still fighting the shocking revelation.

It was nearly midnight in Tidmouth, and the Steam Engines were hiding in Edwards Land Rover in a quite road. Down the road was a large area surrounded by a large stone wall with a large metal gate, the tops of large fuel containers could be seen behind the wall and large search towers with searchlights could be seen along the wall.

"So Edward," said James with false enthusiasm, "How are we supposed to get in there?"

"Simple," said Edward, "I've checked out the perimeter of the depot, and have spotted a small gap in their security. The searchlights don't fully cover the wall, so if we can climb other the wall there, we sneak in and plant our explosives, then sneak out and watch the fireworks."

The rebels left the land rover and snuck towards the wall, being careful not to make too much noise. When they reached the blind spot in the security, everyone hide within the shadows of the alleyways, waiting for the searchlight to clear away. When they did, they quietly dashed to the wall and stood against it.

"Everyone, keep the silencers on your weapons," said Edward, "Gordon, give Henry a leg, to help the rest of us get over."

Gordon kneeled against the wall and held out his hands on his lap. Henry put his foot in Gordon's hands and grabbed the top of the wall as Gordon pushed him up. Henry pulled his legs over the wall and rested on his stomach, with his left arm behind the wall and his right reaching down to help pull Percy up who Gordon was pushing up.

When Percy was up, Gordon pushed Thomas up, with Percy and Henry pulling him up. When Thomas was up, Percy dropped down, allowing Thomas to move over and help pull Edward up. James came after Edward, who dropped down and allowed James to get ready to help Gordon.

Gordon ran at the wall, before jumping up with his arms out. Henry and James both grabbed his hands and pulled him up the wall. When Gordon was on the wall, James and Henry both dropped, soon followed by Gordon. With everyone over the wall, everyone ducked to cover behind some barrels.

Inside the depot they could see a countless number of fuel barrels stacked into organised piles. A row of ten fuel trucks could be seen across the yard, large piles of snow that had been cleared away were cleared against the wall. In the centre were some incredibly tall tankers which held a large frame surrounding them, and finally, there were a few buildings dotted around the complex. The sight of troops patrolling the area was however, not unexpected.

The rebels quietly snuck off amongst the mess of parked trucks and fuel tanks, planting explosives stolen from the Diesels at the most damaging locations, being careful to avoid the troops patrolling around them. Each explosive had been set for 30 minutes, hopefully giving them enough time finish and escape before getting caught in the following explosion.

At their seventeenth zone, James was planting another bomb as the others kept watching for approaching patrols. Suddenly, a small group of three troops was walking in their direction. Panic set in as the troops came closer and closer, James was still setting the bomb.

"James, hurry up!" whispered Percy loudly.

"Hold on," replied James, "I need to set the timer."

The squad was getting closer and closer to the rebels, soon they sound be close enough to see them and sound the alarm. Eventually, Percy, Thomas and Gordon hid behind some barrels and boxes.

"James leave it, we need to move," said Edward, pulling James away with Henry.

Everyone was hidden as the troops walked past their hiding spot, however, instead of marching on; the group chose to stay right next to the bomb. The group quietly cursed at the troops, but there was nothing they can do, if they attacked that risked hitting the bomb and killing themselves. So quietly, they crawled along the floor behind the mess of boxes and barrels, being careful not to make too much noise. James however, was worried, he had been in a rush to set the bomb and didn't get to fully work on the timer, and he could only hope that the timer hadn't been activated.

After crawling along the cold floor, the rebels slowly stood up behind a small brick hut. Just around the corner was their final target area, a large line of tankers loaded with fuel ready to ship out across the island. Edward watched the guards walk away to continue their patrols, before the group snuck up to plant the bomb.

Just as James was finishing on the bomb, there as a loud roar followed by a flash of bright orange light. Everyone stopped to see the explosion destroyed a large fuel tower, sending large pieces of broken metal everywhere. Unfortunately, the group had been watching the sight for too long before they were spotted.

"INTRUDERS!" roared a soldier, right before Gordon shot him with his machine gun.

Everyone ran back to the small hut as the Diesels fired on the group. As soon as everyone was inside, Thomas and Percy moved several boxes in front of the door to stop any Diesels from entering, while everyone else ran to the windows to return fire.

Outside, large numbers of Imperial Troops charged across the yard through the flames of burning scrap and debris. Many fell to the ground as the Steam Engines fired on them due to the little cover them had. Suddenly, more explosions went off around the base, destroying more structures and scattering more rumble and flames across the area, killing more troops. As the situation became more and more difficult for the troops, the remaining men abandoned their assault and retreated to the gate where more reinforcements had arrived.

For the Steam Engines, things got worse; they were now trapped inside the small hut as the entire depot collapsed around them. More explosions from the burning fuel barrels caused flames to spread everywhere.

"We need to get out of here!" yelled Thomas.

"How?" asked James in reply.

"We're gonna have to run!" yelled Gordon, as he began moving away the boxes. When it was clear, Henry kicked down the door. The heat from the flames was unbearable and the smoke made breathing difficult, more explosions went off, sending on of the towers falling and crashing into the wall.

"That's our way out," yelled Edward. Everyone covered their mouths with their hands and charged through the burning base. The tower had left a large enough hole from them to get through without being burnt. The team ran through the hole before dropping to the floor in the middle of the road. Everyone was coughing and gasping for fresh air, they're clothes were dirty and they're faces were covered with smoke and dust.

"Come on guys," wheezed Thomas, as he stood up through a fit of coughs, "We need to move, before the Diesels find us."

Everyone stood to their feet before running off as fast as they could. When they reached Edwards Land Rover, everyone scrambled in and Edward drove out, all looking forward to a wash down and a rest.

**There chapter 3, read and review and tell me if you have any ideas for me. Plus to answer GomanTow38's question, there will be no slash, sorry.**

**Also, if there are any characters you want to see let me know, they can be from the TV series or Railway series. And I'm thinking of giving Thomas a love interest in the next chapter, so let me know who you'd like to pair with Thomas, See ya!**


	4. On the run and a new ally

Colonel Class 40 was travelling in a Military train heading for Vicarstown, to attend an emergency meeting regarding the increasing threat the rebels of Sodor were posing. Despite the best efforts of the empire, rebels were still running around the streets, causing havoc. In fact, the number of confrontations between the Military and the rebels had increased dramatically, with both sides sustaining heavy casualties.

The trains speed began to decrease as it neared Vicarstown; due to the situation on Sodor declining, the Empire had made Vicarstown the Headquarters of the Imperial Military stationed on the island. When the train stopped at the station, Class 40 disembarked from the train. The station was swarming with vast numbers of Imperial troops, patrolling around the station and its perimeter.

The cold air swirled around the Colonel as he walked across the platform to the station building as his bodyguards followed, he could feel the cold biting through his uniform. After passing through the station building, he made his way to a white car that was ready to transport him to the Head Quarters.

Colonel Class 40 had always been a proud supporter of the Empire; he had joined at 16 years of age and spent two years training to become an officer. He was also a fan of the Diesel Locomotives that were in the employ of the Empire, while despising Steam Engines. To honour the Diesels, he had changed his name to Class 40 to honour his favourite engine.

The Colonel got into the back of the car, before the driver left for the Head Quarters. The journey had been uneventful, with very little traffic in the way and no surprise attacks from any rebels desperate for a victory.

The Head Quarters were located outside of town; it consisted of a large fenced off complex with several buildings inside, with a large complex and a parade square. The largest building was in the middle, it was the command centre, and in front of it was the parade square where troops would practices their marching. On one side of the parade square, was a large number of long, small buildings, these were the barracks for the troops, on the other side were two mess halls, one for the troops and one for the officers.

The car pulled up outside the Command Centre, where Class 40 left and entered the building. He walked through the spotless white corridors and staircases until he reached a large conference room. Inside, was a large table, twelve chairs around it with a thirteenth at the far end of the table; at the other end on the wall was a large screen.

Sitting in some of the chairs were the various high ranking officers on the island. All of them were well known to Class 40, Arry and Bert, Splatter and Dodge, D199, Dennis, Norman, Sidney, Frank, Bo-Co and Bear. Sitting in the chair at the far end of the table was Diesel, the Supreme Commander. All of the officers wore the mark of the Golden Claw, given a variety of style in each officer's uniform.

Arry and Bert were twins; both wore a dark green-grey uniform which had yellow and black trim. Splatter and Dodge were also twins; Splatter's uniform was grey with a purple trim, while Dodge's uniform was grey with trim. D199 and Bear both wore a rail blue uniform with yellow trim. Dennis and Norman were also brothers, with Dennis wearing a light grey uniform with dark grey trim, and Norman wearing a red-orange uniform with yellow lining. Sidney wore a blue uniform with yellow trim. Frank wore a light grey uniform with red trim, and finally Bo-Co wore and all green uniform.

Class 40 was good friends with all of the officer's, with the exception of Bo-Co, Frank and Bear. In his eyes, they were merciful to criminals and traitors of the empire, refusing to carry out actions they deemed evil, actions which were necessary for the empire to maintain control. This had brought him to question their loyalty, despite being awarded the Emperors the personal mark. They had only received it through cunning strategies, or winning decisive victories.

The Colonel sat down between D199 and Dodge, while sitting opposite to Bo-Co, just as Diesel began to speak.

"Gentlemen," said Diesel, "It is good to see you all made it hear without trouble, now down to business."

The large screen at the other end of the table flickered on, showing an image of the Island of Sodor.

"Now, I'm sure you're all aware of how bad rebel activity is on the Island. Recently, there have been over a dozen attacks across Sodor in the last week. I don't need to explain how bad the effects these attacks are having on our forces," said Diesel.

"Do we have an idea of how rebels are scattered across Sodor?" asked Dennis.

"Since their attacks are too far spread out, it is nearly impossible to identify how many cells are out there," replied Diesel.

"I have a suggestion," spoke up D199, "Why don't we just exterminate a town where there has been rebel activity."

"That idea is both cruel and flawed," argued Bo-Co, everyone stared at him for his outburst, "If we exterminated a settlement, we would be killing innocent people."

Nobody, except Bear and Frank showed any signs of agreeing with his statement.

"Furthermore, such actions might rally more support for the rebels, causing us more trouble," said Bo-Co finishing his speech.

"That was a very interesting speech, Bo-Co," said Class 40, in a sarcastic tone, "But I'm sure such an effect would is almost impossible."

"Actually," said Diesel, "I believe he is correct in some way, if we do exterminate a town, it might rally support for the rebels and can be our undoing."

"So what should we do then?" asked Dodge.

"Let's think, where have the most recent attacks have been?" said Bert.

"That would be Great Waterton, Brendam Docks, Tidmouth, Crovan's gate and Ballahoo," said Splatter.

"Hold on, Tidmouth has always had some form of rebel attack," said Class 40, "I believe a group of Rebels may be operating in its streets. I estimate six at most."

"What are you suggesting?" asked Diesel.

"Well, since the destruction of the Tidmouth fuel depot, some of the officer's believe they have located some possible rebel hideouts. I say we try to root out these rebels and stabilise Tidmouth," said Class 40 with a sinister grin.

"Very well," replied Diesel with a just as sinister grin.

The sun was nearly setting over Tidmouth as the snow descended in a blizzard, wild and ruthless, burying roads under the thick white stuff. However, even the snow was not enough to stop the five ruthless trucks of the Empire that were carrying teams of soldiers to the locations of possible rebels. The trucks had scattered across the town, each one heading to a different location.

Inside their house, James and Emily were snuggled up together on the sofa, watching TV. Both were enjoying the others comfort in their sitting room, the lights were dim and the curtains were closed. Suddenly, both of them jumped up at the sound of loud knocking against the front door, followed shouting.

"OPEN UP! IN THE NAME OF EMPEROR DIESEL 10!" roared a voice; James walked towards the curtain, and gently pushed it aside to leave a small gap. Looking out, he could see ten armed Imperial Soldiers wearing white winter gear.

"Emily, get to the kitchen," said James in a firm tone, as he ran towards the cupboard under the stairs.

"James? What are you doing?" asked Emily, confused by the way James was acting.

"Emily, please, don't ask questions and go to the kitchen," replied James, as he continued to dig through the stuff in the cupboard.

"James, there's something you're not telling me and I want to..."Emily's voice trailed off as she saw James pull out a rifle, a small backpack and five sticks of dynamite taped together.

"James, what is going on?" asked Emily in a complete state of shock.

"Emily, I can explain but not now," he replied as he lit the fuse.

Outside, the soldiers were getting impatient, the one closest to the door banged again.

"THIS IS YOUR FINAL WARNING! OPEN THIS DOOR!" he yelled, again there was no reply, "Bring up the ram."

A large metal rod, with two handles on top, was passed between the soldiers, until it reached the two nearest the door. Both stood either side of the door, holding the ram by the handles.

"On three," said the left trooper, the pair started to swing the ram, "One...Two...Three!"

BOOM

The door burst off its hinges as a bright orange fireball erupted from behind it. The two men in front of the door were knocked back to the ground; pieces of the door pierced their flesh as it shattered from the blast. Before the rest of the soldier's could comprehend what had happened, gunshots roared as another three soldiers were killed.

As the surprised soldiers ran for cover, James and Emily snuck out the back door, though Emily was still in shock from the event. They climbed over the back fence in a narrow back alley that was covered in snow. Both of them pulled their winter coats tight over them to keep warm against the raging snow, before running off to avoid capture.

At Thomas and Percy's flat, both of them had been working very hard and now were both looking forward to a rest. Suddenly, there was banging at the door, followed by shouting.

"OPEN UP! FOR THE IMPERIAL MILITARY!" roared the voice, causing panic to strike the two rebels.

"Percy, what weapons do we have?" asked Thomas anxiously. Percy scrambled under the single bed and pulled out a large metal box, inside were two pistols, two small semi-automatic rifles, a few grenades and several magazines of bullets.

"A rifle and a pistol each, and whatever ammo and grenades you can carry," said Percy, "This is going to be our toughest fight ever."

They heard loud banging against the door as the soldiers desperately tried to get in.

"I don't doubt that," replied Thomas as he aimed his rifle at the door, "Let's give these bastards hell."

The two men quickly got to cover just as the door burst wide open, allowing three soldiers to storm through. Instantly, Thomas and Percy opened fire as they entered, catching them in a barrage of bullet fire. With the doorway clear, Thomas chucked a grenade out the door to deal with any waiting troops. As soon as the small explosive bounced out the door, shouting filled the air.

"GRENADE! TAKE COVER!"

For a brief moment there was the sound of running, following by a flash and a bang. Quickly, Thomas and Percy ran out door, only to be greeted by the sight of Imperial Soldiers regrouping at the stair case. Before they could attack, the two 'steam engines' gunned down another two diesel soldiers before taking cover. As the troops fired at the rebels, Percy dropped a grenade down the stairs, the resulting explosion killing the troops.

"Let's go," said Thomas.

"Where too?" asked Percy, Thomas didn't really know.

"Uh...let's try the van," replied Thomas.

After escaping the apartment building, the two men were running through alleyways, desperately trying to avoid the roaming eyes of the Empire. Since they fled, the Diesels must have quickly found out about their escape, and now nearly all of Tidmouth was patrolled by the Empires forces.

The snow was both a blessing and a curse, since the thick blizzard reduced visibility; it was slightly easy to avoid patrols, but also made navigating almost impossible. Also, their footprints could be easily seen in the snow, though they were partially covered by quick falling snow.

After spending roughly an hour, moving through Tidmouth in the freezing cold, the two men had finally made it to the yard and were now beside the van. Thomas and Percy both pulled the doors open; however, they were surprised to see Edward, Gordon and Henry inside, all of who were equally surprised by their presence.

"What are you guys doing here?" asked Percy.

"Get in here! Quick, before you get seen," said Edward as he held out his hand to help Thomas up, while Henry pulled Percy up.

When they were in, Gordon and Henry pulled the doors shut as Percy and Thomas started rubbing their arms to keep warm.

"S-s-so why-y-y are y-you-u-u guys h-h-here?" asked a shivering Thomas.

"We were attacked by Diesels at our homes," said Gordon, his voice sounding bitter and full of suppressed rage.

"How were they able to identify us?" yelled Henry, "I had to blow up my caravan to escape them."

"Hold on," said Edward, "They might have targeted areas where they believed to be rebels, but couldn't identify us. Also, James isn't here, so maybe they haven't found him."

Suddenly, as if on cue the door to the van opened and clambered in James and Emily. Everyone stared in shock and horror at the sight of Emily, who had never been aware of their fighting lifestyle. Now James had brought her hear and now they would have to explain themselves.

"JAMES!" roared Gordon, "What the fuck were you thinking bringing her hear?!"

"I don't know," replied James sarcastically, "I was too busy trying to escape the diesels!"

"You too?" asked Percy in disbelief, James nodded.

"So the Empire was planning to stamp us out," said Thomas.

"I'm sorry," interrupted Emily, "But what the hell is going on?"

"You want to know?" asked Thomas, Emily nodded, "We're rebels, all six of us. We fight against the tyranny of the Empire, and hope to restore freedom to the world."

Emily looked around at the group of people who were her friends, including her boyfriend. She was in complete shock, she though she knew these people, but now it turns out she didn't. Quietly, she sat down in the corner to comprehend what had happened, as the rebels began to think of a way out. They had all gathered round the large map of Sodor that was lying on top of a large crate.

"Well, it's obvious that we can't stay here," said Henry, "We will need to gather what supplies we can and leave."

"Few problems there Henry," said Thomas, "Firstly, where can we go? Secondly, how do we get there? And lastly, how do we avoid getting caught?"

"All the checkpoints would be on high alert, and they would have forces patrolling around the perimeter of the town," Said Percy, pointing it out.

"I think I've got an idea," said Gordon, as he pointed at the railway lines on the map, "We could stowaway on a train on the mainline heading for Knapford, or maybe using the Little Western to reach Haultraugh."

"The Empire would of most likely search those trains upon entering the towns, we'd be arrested on the spot," said James.

"Here's an idea," said Edward, "There is an important Diesel supply train that is meant to be leaving Tidmouth, it would have most likely been delayed due to the weather, but the Empire will still send it out. It will be heading for Haultraugh, so as soon as we are out of Tidmouth, we'll jump off and head east towards Elsbridge, that areas pretty quiet so we can rest up there and move on east. Hopefully, we'll be able to find other rebels to receive support."

"How do you know there's a train leaving tonight," asked Gordon.

"I pay attention to the schedule," replied Edward.

"So we better pack up as much as we can then," said Thomas. Everyone turned round to look at Emily, who was very quiet. "Emily, we'll need your help to carry some stuff, it's too dangerous for you to stay here."

"Fine," was all Emily could say in return.

Everyone dug out a rucksack, and got to work gathering supplies. Gordon and Henry were primarily gathering weapons, along with cleaning kits and ammo. Emily was given most of the food and medical supplies. James and Edwards had mainly gathered together some of the explosives, along with some weapons and munitions that Gordon and Henry couldn't carry. Thomas and Percy were gathering together as much as everything they possible could that the others couldn't take.

However, everyone, except Emily, was carrying a sleeping in their rucksacks, with Gordon, Edward and Thomas carrying tents on the outside of their sacks. As everyone was finishing packing up what they could carry, Thomas walked over to Emily, who was still very quiet.

"You ok?" he asked in a concerned tone, Emily just nodded in reply, "Just a little surprised."

"How can you guys do this?" asked Emily, "How can you go to war against the Empire? Aren't you scared?"

"We all were a bit scared when we started," said Thomas, "Not knowing how to fight or what to do in tough situations, hell we even thought of abandoning our efforts, but as time wore on, we began to improve in our actions and started to hurt the Empire more and more."

Thomas could see that Emily was still a little shaken by the recent events.

"Don't worry Emily;" said Thomas in a reassuring voice, "We won't let anything happen to you. I know James won't."

"Your sweet," said Emily with a quiet giggle, "It's a wonder you're still single."

"Uhh...It's because...I...haven't met the right girl," replied Thomas, fighting a blush, Emily and he were like brother and sister, and she had always been trying to get him date a friend of hers.

"Don't worry, I'll help you find someone," said Emily with another giggle, Thomas went as red as James jacket.

When everyone had filled their rucksacks up to bursting point, and a weapon in their hands, the group of runaways left the van filled with the remaining equipment, and ran through the yard that was half buried in snow, leaving the van for the last time. Although the strong blizzard was enough to stop the Empire from using any search helicopters, it wasn't enough to stop the use of trucks and foot patrols from searching every part of Tidmouth in their hunt for the runaway rebels.

At Tidmouth station, a silver Class 08 shunter diesel was finishing assembling the Diesel supply train for the Little Western line, the train consisted of twenty closed vans with a brakevan at the back. A dark green Class 40 Diesel with a snowplough on the front was slowly backing down on to the train, as work men loaded the vans with boxes of different size. The platform was covered with workmen and soldiers in winter gear, fighting through the blizzard, the stations lights did very little to help see.

At the far end of the platform, the Rebels had hidden behind a pile of boxes, ahead was a van with the side door still open. Before they could move however, they had to wait for the group of three nearby workmen to leave. Through the howling snow, everyone could hear them shouting to each other.

"Why does this train need to leave tonight?" yelled one, "This weathers lethal."

"Some of the Northern garrison's are low on supplies," replied another.

"Come on, let's shut this door then get inside, I'm freezing," said the last.

The workmen closed the door to the van over and made their way up the platform. Henry and Gordon checked to make sure they were in the clear, with no nearby Imperials in sight, the two men ran to the van and pulled the door open. The group soon ran over and climbed one by one, first Emily, then Percy, and then Thomas, James, Edward and Henry, with Gordon last in. Gordon pulled the door over, leaving a small gap to look out.

There was an uneasy silence inside the van; no one dared talk so not to risk being detected by the imperials. Suddenly, there was a slight jerk as they felt the train move slowly, the sound of the trucks rattling grew louder and louder as the train picked up speed. Gordon pushed the door open to get a better view of the outside.

"So what now?" asked James.

"We'll wait till we're outside Tidmouth," said Edward, "Then jump of and head for Elsbridge."

"Was your head on straight when you that up?" asked James, Edward just rolled his eyes.

After roughly ten minutes, the train had left Tidmouth and had now entered the country side, where all there was the skeletons of the leafless trees surrounded by snow.

"Everyone, get ready to jump," said Edward. Gordon stood up and pushed the door wide open.

Everyone grabbed their rucksacks and waited by the door, Edward was first; he threw his bag out then leaped from the van, landing in the thick snow with a roll. Thomas was next, followed by Henry, Emily, James, Percy (who needed 'motivating' by Gordon), and Gordon being last. Soon, everyone was lying in the deep, freezing cold snow next to their bag. Everyone was quick to get up and brush off the cold stuff, much to their annoyance.

"Smart plan, Edward," said James sarcastically, "Smart fucking plan."

"Stop whining," moaned Edward, he had had enough of James moaning.

Edward opened a small pocket on his bag and pulled a map, a compass and a torch. He gave the torch to Thomas and looked at the map. After five minutes, he had created a route to follow to Tidmouth.

"Follow me," said Edward, taking his torch back from Thomas, before wading through the snow.

The snow out in the countryside was deep and everywhere, it reached up to everyone's knees as they waded through, the strong wind was almost powerful to force over and the falling snow made it difficult to see.

Thomas pulled up his hood over his head to keep warm; Percy had pulled his selves over his hands and was holding his gun through the fabric. James had wrapped his arm around Emily in an effort to keep her warm, and so that she might forgive him for lying to her. Gordon and Henry looked like they were trying to prove they were tough by braving against the cold, despite the obvious shivering. Edward was too focused on reading the map to worry about the cold.

As they continued on their excruciating journey through the hostile weather, the level of snow around their legs began to decrease. Thomas looked around as best he could, he saw Percy struggling against the fierce conditions, James and Emily huddled together to struggle on, Gordon and Henry starting to succumb to the cold and Edward using as much of his concentration as possible to read the map. Thomas then looked around again, and suddenly saw bright lights, and he could hear the distant sounds of engines purring. The noise caused everyone to stop and look in the direction of the bright light.

Thomas tried to get a better look of what was coming their way, suddenly a thought hit him.

"Get down!" he yelled, and dropped to the snow. The others were quick to follow, as they objects that were projecting the bright light came into view. It was coming from a diesel military truck that was leading small convey along the road.

As the last truck disappeared into the snowy fog, the rebels stood up from the snow, and began brushing off much of the snow.

"That was too close," said Edward, as he returned his gaze to the map.

"I'm fucked sick of this!" yelled James, everyone stared at him, "Look at us, we have been ran out of our homes and are walking through snow that goes up to our knees."

"Did you think being a rebel was going to be a life of luxury?" argued Percy.

"Everyone! Calm down," shouted Thomas, "Fighting isn't going to get us anywhere."

The rest of the journey was quiet; everyone was cold and tired, leaving everyone's mood in a bad way. Edward had announced that they were nearly there, but it did very little to improve anyone's mood. The group was now travelling up a steep hill, though no one had the strength or will to do so.

At the top of the hill however, through the thick fog of snow, the rebels could make out two large shapes. As they got closer, the shapes began to take form; one was an old large house, while the other was a large, rundown barn. The group slowly approached the barn, checking to see any movement or light inside the house. Fortunately, the house looked quiet and dark, almost as if it was empty. Gordon slowly and quietly as possible opened a small door into the barn. Once everyone was inside Gordon gently closed the door. However, unbeknownst to the rebels, a shadowy figure had watched them as they entered the barn.

Inside, the barn was cold, but dry, with bits and pieces of old and broken objects scattered around the edge and a large empty space in the middle. Everyone dropped their weapons on top of a large wooden crate beside the door, and place their rucksacks next to it.

"It's great we found this place," said Gordon, "We can rest here for the night, dry in here and saves us the bother of putting up the tents."

"Think we can get a fire going?" asked Percy.

"Well...we could burn some pieces of broken wood, but this isn't our stuff," said Edward, who was slightly nervous at the idea of trespassing.

"Come on Edward," said Henry, "This place is empty, and if there are people, we'll leave nice and early to avoid being caught."

"Fine," sighed Edward in defeat.

"I'll get a fire ready," said James.

Soon, everyone was sitting around a small, but warm fire, using broken pieces of wood as fuel. The group had sat round in a ring to share the heat of the fire and each other. Though they were tired and hungry, they had decided focus on keeping warm until they were ready.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang as the barn door swung open, allowing a large gust of snowy wind to fly in. Everyone stared at the doorway to see a mysterious shadowy figure, wearing a large winter coat with the hood over their head, pointing what looked like a hunting rifle at them. The lads first reaction was to reach for their weapons only realise they had left their weapons right next to where the stranger was standing.

"All of you!" shouted the Stranger, the voice was of a woman's but sounded strong. "Stand and put your arms over your heads!"

Everyone did as they were commanded; this was an embarrassing experience for the rebels, who should have known better than to let their guard down.

"So, who are you?" asked the Stranger, "Criminals? Escaped convicts? Vandals?"

Each person looked at the other, hoping someone had something smart to say.

"We're...travelling salesmen?" said James; everyone else just rolled their eyes at James' foolish answer.

"Pretty heavily armed for travelling salesmen," replied the Stranger, referencing to the pile of weapons on the crate.

"We sell weapons?" said James, hoping this would convince the Stranger to let them go.

"So you profit off other peoples suffering?" said the Stranger, "I really should kill you."

"No don't," screamed Gordon, "We don't sell weapons...we...uhh...err..."

"We're Rebels!" shouted Thomas, taking a leap of faith. Everyone gave him a shocked look that said; what have you done? The Stranger continued to stare at them, with her rifle pointed directly at Thomas.

"Rebels?" she asked, "As in, those that are fighting against the Empire?"

"Yes," replied Thomas, everyone gave him more looks of shock. The Stranger continued to aim her weapon at Thomas. However, she soon lowered her rifle.

"Why are you here?" she asked, in a more curious tone, than aggressive.

"We're on the run from the Diesels in Tidmouth," Thomas answered.

"Well, in that case, you can stay in my house," said the Stranger. Everyone's face lit up at the sound of that statement, they all grabbed their stuff together and followed the Stranger to the large house.

Once inside, the heat instantly caught hold of everyone. They were standing in a hall, in front was a large staircase to the top floor, beside the staircase was a large opening that lead to the lounge, which consisted of two armchairs, a three seated couch, a TV and a fire place, large thick curtains covered the windows, keeping the light in. In-between the two, was a corridor that lead to the back of the house. To the left were several hooks for people to put their coats, next to a wooden door.

"Leave your bags there," said the Stranger pointing at the space next to the stairs, as she put her gun against the stair case and removed her coat.

Thomas looked at the woman who had helped them. She had long blond hair flowing freely down her back; she had fair skin, bright blue eyes and had the face of an angel. She was wearing a dark purple, long sleeve shirt, with black trousers and boots. Thomas was especially amazed by her beauty, finding it hard to resist staring at her, and could feel himself beginning to blush.

"Now, then," she said, her voice sounding more friendly and angelic, "You lot make yourself comfortable, while I make you some vegetable soup."

Everyone grinned as they entered the lounge, James, Emily and Gordon sat down on the couch, Edward and Henry got a chair each, and Thomas and Percy sat down in front of the couch. James had found the TV remote and was flicking through the channels. For once since their escape, everyone was in a good mood.

For Thomas, he couldn't stop thinking about the woman who was helping them, how easily she accepted them after discovering they were rebels. She had allowed them to stay in her home, yet they didn't even know her name, and now she was cooking a meal for them. He decided he better go help her, even if she didn't, it would be nice to get to know her.

Standing up and leaving the lounge, Thomas walked down the corridor where the woman had gone. At the end of the corridor, were three doors, one on the back wall that leads outside, a door on the left and another on the right that was slightly open. Inside, Thomas could see what looked like a kitchen, gently pushing the door open, he could see a sink, a large fridge and freezer, and a cooker with a large saucepan on top. In the middle was a large with eight chairs around it, and a large number of cupboards were along the edge of the room.

Thomas could see the woman standing over the saucepan, stirring the soup inside with a wooden spoon; next to her on the work top were seven empty bowls. Taking a deep breath, Thomas stepped into the kitchen.

"Excuse me," said Thomas, the woman spun round to look at him, "would you like a hand?"

"Yes, thank you," replied the woman with a smile that made Thomas' heart melt, "Can you hold the bowls while I pour the soup?"

"My name's Thomas."

"You can call me Lady," said the Woman, Thomas gave her a smile.

Thomas held the bowls for Lady to pour the soup in, before carrying each one over to the table. When the last bowl was over, Thomas noticed there wasn't one for Lady.

"Lady, are you going to eat anything?" asked Thomas, slightly concern.

"No," said Lady with a smile, "I've already eaten. This is my house after all."

Soon, the others were all sitting at the table, downing the meal Lady cooked for them. Everyone used this time to introduce themselves to Lady, who in turn introduced herself.

"So, what did you guys do back in Tidmouth?" asked Lady, interested in the tales of their exploits.

"Well," began James, "we pretty much done a load of sabotage, such as destroying equipment and installations vital to the Empire."

"Though there have been times when go beyond the boundaries," boasted Thomas, "Like this one time, we stole and destroyed an entire supply train for the Diesels."

"And, we blew up an entire fuel depot, that really caused some problems," said Percy while looking at Lady, this made Thomas slightly jealous.

"Wait..." interrupted Emily, "You guys did what?"

"Uh...long story," said James.

"Aren't you a rebel Emily?" asked Lady, confused by her shock.

"No, I just got caught in the crossfire when the Diesels hunted down these."

An uneasy silence lingered in the atmosphere, Lady decided to change to subject.

"So, why come to Elsbridge?" she asked.

"We came because it was one of the closest places where the Empire wouldn't search for us, and then plan what to do next," answered Edward, "Do you have any idea of what their presence is like here?"

"Well," began Lady, "There's not much to say, they don't seem to view Elsbridge as an important location. Aside from the checkpoints and the odd patrol, there are only two places where the Empires forces have any strong presence, the station and their camp just outside the village."

"Sounds like we have a new playground, boys," roared Gordon, the rebels cheered in response.

"So you guys are staying?" asked Lady joyfully.

"Definitely," said Thomas, who was overly excited, something Emily noticed.

"Well then, better find you guys somewhere to sleep," said Lady as she stood up from the table, everyone else was quick to join her. They followed her up stairs, where there were five doors, across the landing. Two on the side of the stairs with three opposite.

"Okay, these two rooms are the guest rooms, in the middle is the bathroom," Said Lady, pointing at the two at the far corners of the upstairs hall, with the middle door the bathroom.

"Here," she pointed at the door nearest the stairs, "this is just the airing cupboard, and over there is my room," pointing at the door across from the top of the stairs.

Inside the first spare room, was a large double bed, with a bedside cabinet on each side, a large wardrobe in the corner of the room, with a chest of drawers next to it. The walls had been painted white; and the floor was covered in a dark blue. The second room, had two single beds, one on each side, in-between them was a chest of drawers, and beside the door was a wardrobe.

The first room was given to James and Emily, which result in the lads giggling amongst themselves, much to their annoyance. The second room was given to Percy and Edward, leaving Thomas, Henry and Gordon to sleep in the lounge. Upon realising this, Gordon and Henry, raced to the top of the stairs, Gordon was first and started to charge down, quickly followed by Henry. Just as Gordon reached the bottom, Henry pushed past him. Gordon wouldn't let himself be beat and ran towards the couch and launched himself into it.

"I get the couch," boasted a victorious Gordon, Henry sieved with anger.

The other soon came down to get their stuff, with Thomas and Lady staying. Lady was about to give the two men a stern word, before Thomas stopped her.

"Leave them," said Thomas.

Soon, everyone's stuff was upstairs and Thomas, Henry and Gordon had their sleeping bags out, though Henry was still jealous about not getting the couch. One-by-one, everyone had gone to bed and was asleep, except Thomas, he was helping Lady clear the kitchen table. Though they could hear Gordon and Henry snoring, it was nice they could socialise with each other.

"So, I've been living here for nearly my whole, used to be a farm, but we sold all the land long ago," said Lady, as she explained a bit of her history.

"Interesting," said Thomas, "Hey, can I ask you a question?"

"Sure."

"When you found us in the barn," began Thomas, "Why did you let us come in when I said we were rebels?"

"Because I don't like the Empire, silly," said Lady with a giggle, Thomas chuckled.

"I mean why you trusted us so easily," explained Thomas.

"Well, I have like a sense that makes it easier for me to judge people," said Lady, "I had a good feeling about you lot, I just needed to make sure was all."

"I guess that makes sense," said Thomas, "I hope we stay friends."

"Me too," said Lady through a yawn, "I think I'll turn in, good night Thomas."

"Goodnight Lady," he said as he watched disappear through the door.

"I hope we can be something more than just friends," he thought to himself.

**Well, here's chapter, I hope that you continue to read this story even if this isn't your favourite pairing, cause that won't be fair on me. However, if you would like me to do a love triangle (or square even) let me know. So read and review, and let me know what you think or if you have any ideas.**


	5. New Place, Same Job

The next morning, the snow had stopped falling and the sun was shining through the clouds, creating a beautiful scene outside. Thomas was the first to wake up, though he didn't get much sleep thanks to Gordon and Henry's snoring, which they were still doing. Sighing to himself, Thomas left the lounge and went to the kitchen, hoping to find some breakfast.

Inside the kitchen was empty; everything had been left where Thomas and Lady had left it when they cleaned up. Thomas' stomach began to rumble loudly, begging for food. He wasn't too sure if he should be rummaging through someone else's kitchen, but another moan from his stomach forced those concerns away. He began rummaging through the cupboards, looking through the tins, jars, packets and other things for something to make a quick and easy breakfast.

He pulled his head out of the eighth cupboard and saw Emily wearing a white dressing gown that was a bit too small for her; her hair was dripping wet and so was her skin, meaning she had just had a shower. She had a stern look on her face.

"What?" replied Thomas, "I'm hungry!"

Emily just rolled her eyes as she walked over to the sink, grabbing a clean glass and filling it with tap water and sitting down at the table. Thomas pulled himself off the floor and sat opposite her, he soon regretted his decision when he saw that Emily's dressing gown left much of her noticeable bust exposed, forcing Thomas to resist looking down. Fortunately, Emily was staring into her glass of water she had left on the table.

"You alright?" asked Thomas, Emily just nodded.

"Enjoy your sleep?"

"Honestly," said Emily, "It was almost perfect, only problem was I had to sleep next to a fucking liar."

Thomas was taken quiet taken back by what Emily had said; she hardly ever talked foul of a friend, especially James.

"What did you say?" asked Thomas, still surprised.

"James is a Liar. Every day I would worry over him, scared that the rebels would attack the Diesels, and he'd die in the crossfire," she said bitterly, "Only I find out, he not only supports the rebels, he is one."

"Emily, we're all rebels," said Thomas, hoping to convince her they were doing good work.

"I know," said Emily, "But James should have been honest with me."

"James kept it secret to protect you," argued Thomas, "If the Empire found out whom he was, he didn't want them to come after you." Emily just huffed quietly.

Thomas just sighed and looked around the kitchen, he could feel his eyes being drawn to Emily's chest, despite his best efforts, he was unable to draw his gaze properly away. This time, Emily noticed and decided to play with Thomas.

"See anything you like?" she said, rather flirtingly, Thomas blushed and started to stutter. For the first time since fleeing Tidmouth, Emily laughed.

"S-s-sorry Emily," was all Thomas could say.

"Its fine," replied Emily with a smile, "This dressing gown is a bit too small." She pulled it over as much as possible.

"I'm going to see if Lady's awake, ask if she has anything suitable for breakfast," said Thomas, still feeling awkward. He got up and left the kitchen, then ascended the stairs.

Thomas made his way towards the door of Lady's room; he could hear the water pouring from the bathroom. Thomas took a deep breath and readied himself, why he did that? He didn't have a clue. He had only just met her and already was trying to grab her attention. After, several agonising seconds, he knocked on the door.

"Lady, are you awake?" he asked, silence lingered as he waited outside, "Lady?"

Though he knew he shouldn't be doing this, but curiosity was always his weakness. Gently, he pushed open the door slightly, to see if she was asleep.

Inside, the room was a lot more luxurious that the spare rooms. The walls were painted a dark purple, with dark purple carpet. Dark purple curtains were covering the windows, leaving it very dark inside the room. On the back wall was a large king size bed, with purple and gold lining coverings that were in a mess, with two wooden cabinets beside the bed. Opposite the window and adjacent to the door, was a large wardrobe with another door next to it. Next to the door, opposite the bed, was a chest of drawers with a sound system on top with CD's stacked in a large rack beside it, with another wardrobe beside it. Scattered across the floor were pieces of clothing. Lady was nowhere to be seen.

Thomas walked over to the CD rack and selected one of the CD's. On the cover, was the image of a woman, wearing a sleeveless, red-purple leather jacket that just covered her chest, leaving her stomach exposed, with a hood over her head, hiding her face, with the exception of her mouth, and some long blonde hair to flow on the side of her face. A very short, tight skirt of the same colour covered her thighs. Red-Purple heeled leather boots that stopped just below her knees finished the outfit.

Thomas instantly recognised the woman; she was a famous singer and dancer known as Angel. Although no one knew her identity, she was one of the, if not THE most famous singer of all time. Thomas had been a big fan of hers and had a large collection of her CD's. Unfortunately, she had disappeared not long after the Empire assumed power. It had been reported that she had been expected to perform for Emperor Diesel 10 himself before her disappearance, it was rumoured that she was against the Empire and refused to entertain them. Most of Lady's CD's were from Angel, some were incredibly rare. Lady must have been a very loyal fan.

Suddenly, the other door opened and out stepped Lady, dripping wet with a purple towel wrapped tightly around her body, showing part of her cleavage. Thomas nearly fainted at the sight, and Lady's eyes were wide with shock.

"Get out!" she yelled, pulling the towel tightly across her chest, unintentionally causing the top of her breasts to show even more. Thomas dropped the CD and ran straight into door; quickly he opened the door even more and ran out, then slamming it shut.

"Why me?" he cursed to himself.

"Are you alright, Thomas?" asked Edward, who was leaving his room, "The days just started and you look like you have already had a bad day."

Thomas just sighed and rubbed where he was hit by the door.

Soon, everyone was awake and dressed, much to Thomas' relief. Lady had given him an awkward stare when she came downstairs; making him glow bright red with shame and embarrassment. Fortunately, Lady hadn't told anyone about their encounter, unfortunately, Thomas now had a small bruise just below his left eye and everybody was asking how he got it.

After eating a full English breakfast cooked for them by Lady and Edward, which consisted of bacon, sausages, beans, eggs and tomatoes, along with cups of tea, the rebels had gathered together in the lounge to strategize.

"Ok, first of we'll need to do a bit of recon, get to know the area before we go on the offensive," said Edward.

"Not much point," replied Gordon, "Lady said the Empire has a very small presence here, and it's hardly unlikely there would have been a dramatic increase in their numbers overnight."

"And we know where their stationed, at the train station and their camp," said James, who felt confident of their situation.

"But if we start fighting, their gonna start dropping soldiers here in large numbers fast," argued Thomas.

"Uh…guys," said Percy, "wouldn't be suspicious if we start checking on the Empires forces all at once."

"I know," said Edward, "But what choice do we have?"

Before anyone could say anything else, Lady entered the lounge.

"Sorry to interrupt your meeting, but I'm going to the village to get a few things," said Lady in an apologetic voice, "I was wondering if you guys needed anything."

"Could you get us some warmer clothes," asked Edward, "preferably in white, and some first aid pouches."

"Sure, but can someone help me?" Lady replied. Suddenly, Gordon and Henry hauled Thomas off the sofa so he could 'volunteer'.

"Hey, get the fuck off me," Thomas yelled, as Gordon and Henry forced him up.

"Thanks for volunteering Thomas," said Gordon, "Maybe you could get something for that bruise on your face." Everyone laughed except Thomas, who was both angry at his teammates, and nervous about being with Lady.

However, Thomas didn't feel like arguing, knowing that it wasn't worth being chucked out in the snow face first by Gordon and Henry. After zipping up his jacket, and after Lady had put on her winter coat, the two of them exited them house.

Thomas took this time to look around, the sun was shining brightly now, with only a few clouds to block its beams. The pure white snow glistened in the sunlight, giving all that was covered a distinctive glow; it was a beautiful sight to behold. The barn had thick white snow across the roof, along with the house, which additional snow on the window sills. Lady had already started walking down the snow covered road while Thomas was looking around, only noticing when she was a few feet away from him. Thomas dashed after her leaving footprints in the deep snow.

The journey to the village was both a quiet and awkward one, Thomas was busy trying get enough courage to say sorry to Lady, who had not even cast him a single glance during their journey.

"Uh...Lady," began Thomas, Lady turned her head to look at him, Thomas could feel his face getting hotter, "Uh...I want to...say I'm sorry...for earlier."

"Why were you in my room?" asked Lady, seemingly uninterested in Thomas' apology.

"I was up early...so I planned to make breakfast for myself," said Thomas, getting more embarrassed when Lady gave him a stern look, "But I thought that since it was your house, I better ask you if I could use your kitchen. I went up to your door and knocked, you didn't reply, so I checked to make sure you were ok, and..."

"Ok, that's enough," Lady interrupted, "I accept your apology."

"Really?" asked Thomas in surprise, with slight joy in his voice.

"Yes," said Lady, with a small smile, "But if I see you in my room without my permission again, I won't be so forgiving." Her face became serious and stern.

"Ok…" said Thomas with a nervous smile, Lady smiled in return.

After a ten minute trek through the snow, the pair were standing in front of a military checkpoint. Roughly five soldiers were guarding the post, all wearing white winter camouflaged clothing. The checkpoint consisted of a large barrier that ran across the road. Beside the barrier was a small hut, where inside, Thomas could see another three soldiers.

"HALT!" bellowed one of the soldiers, raising his left hand to stop them, as the other troopers readied their weapons.

Both Thomas and Lady froze at the soldier's command; they watched the soldier approach them, the snow crunching underneath his boots, leaving deep footprints behind. Thomas looked at the other soldiers that kept their weapons pointed at them. The soldier soon stopped a few feet away from them.

"Your checkpoint passes," he boomed, holding out his white gloved hand. Thomas felt a lump in his throat, he didn't have a pass, and these troopers would arrest him and possibly Lady.

"I have them here," said Lady quickly, pulling out two small plastic, rectangular cards from her pocket. The soldier snatched them out of her hand and looked at them; Thomas was surprised to see what Lady had done, but chose not to question her at the moment.

"Very well," said the Soldier, returning the cards to Lady and returning to the barrier. He made a hand signal towards the hut and the road barrier quickly rose up. The pair briskly walked through the checkpoint into the village, trying to avoid eye contact with the soldiers.

"How the hell did you do that?" asked Thomas, who was completely surprised by what had just transpired.

"What?" asked Lady innocently, "Oh, you mean the security passes, here's yours."

Thomas held out his hands for Lady to place the card in his hand. Though Thomas knew it was a fake, the pass itself was incredibly convincing. The card had an authentic face photo of him, his name, his date of birth, everything.

"How did you get your hands on this?" asked Thomas, still in surprise.

"A magician never reveals her secrets," teased Lady, before giggling, leaving Thomas completely dumbfounded.

The pair entered a supply outpost, as the snow started to fall heavily outside. Supply outposts were nothing more than average sized shops set up by the empire to manage the trade of a location and to sell a wide variety of general supplies to the locals. Since supply outposts were government funded, they were exempt from Imperial trade taxes and had access to some more exclusive higher quality goods than most places.

Inside the outpost, there were several racks of clothes at the back of the building; Shelves of packaged food were in the middle of the shop in aisles. Some freezers and fridges were against the wall nearest the aisles. On the other side of the aisles was the till, with some basic medical and first aid supplies on display behind it. Other sections of the outpost had some basic supplies, a few books in another and some films in a small corner. Thomas never understood this improper, poor form of trade, and was disgusted by the outrageous prices for much of the stock.

After Thomas and Lady gathered together some food, along with some winter coats, (unfortunately they were in different colours due to their being no white ones), they both approached the till. The owner was on the till; he was a man of average height, pale skin tone, was rather skinny and had short messy blonde hair. His eyes were dark blue and he wore a grimy dark blue and white tracksuit.

"Ah, greetings Lady," he said, his voice was deep and gravely, "What can I do for you?"

"Just here for these things, and a first aid kit," replied Lady, the shopkeeper looked all over Thomas.

"And who might you be?"

"My names Thomas," he replied, this shopkeeper was someone he didn't want to know.

"Where are you from?"

"I'm from Tidmouth."

"Tidmouth you say," replied the Shopkeeper, "Oh, I here it's quite nasty over there. With all those wretched rebels running around, and causing trouble for our great Empire."

Thomas nearly erupted with anger at the Shopkeepers comment, 'great Empire'; this guy was loyal to the Empire, although it wasn't much of a surprise considering he was in charge of a supply outpost.

"Anyway, have you heard the news?" asked the Shopkeeper.

"What news?" asked Lady.

"A prison train was forced to stop at the Station due to the snow storm, tracks are buried under large landslides of snow, so they had to stop at the station and lock the traitors up in their camp, I hope they execute every last one of them," said the Shopkeeper, his voice full of anger.

"How many prisoners?" asked Thomas, this shopkeeper was just as cruel as the Empires soldiers.

"I don't have a clue," he replied. Thomas was interested with this information that this foolish loyalist had handed over to a rebel.

When they returned to Lady's house, Thomas had helped Lady bring in the supplies, before rushing to gather the guys. Within a few seconds, Edward, Henry, Gordon, James and Percy had gathered together in the lounge to hear what Thomas had to say. They all listened carefully to each word he said.

"Last night, a train full of prisoners was forced to stop at the station," began Thomas, "Since the snow is so bad, they were forced to put the prisoners in their camp until the line is clear. Judging from how bad the weather was last night, the branch line probably won't be open tomorrow."

Everyone's faces began to grow a small smile; they all knew that this was going to be a right pain for the Empire when prisoners hungry for revenge escape from confinement.

"Given that there aren't many soldiers in this area, a little night time prison raid won't be too difficult," said Thomas, slightly boasting.

"They will only have a few odd patrols during the night, and have half of their troops at the station," deduced Edward, "If we can attack them hard and fast, we'll be able to leave with the prisoners before reinforcements arrive."

"So, we go in, kill a load of Diesels, free the prisoners, kill more Diesels, kill even more Diesels, and get out," said James, concluding the plan, "I'm in!"

"We have a few hours until sundown," Percy piped up.

Everyone soon disbanded to go gather their supplies and weapons, for tonight, the Steam Engines would strike back. The rebels spent at least an hour preparing themselves for their night raid, they wore their new winter coats, Thomas, Edward and Gordon had blue, Percy and Henry had green, and James was red. They also had some pouches and bandoliers stolen from Diesels worn over their coats. Finally, they had just finished going over their equipment, scraping together a suitable collection of weapons. Everyone had gone for basic weapons, with each person using a rifle, a pistol, four grenades, and a knife. By the time the group was ready, the sun had started to set and a heavy snow storm had started to fall.

Lady and Emily had watched them spend hours of preparation, and couldn't help but be worried, even though the guys were used to this sort of action, there was always the risk of loss. Before they were about to leave, James took this time to talk to Emily.

"Well, we'll be leaving soon," said James, Emily just gave him a blank stare, "I hope this will help you understand my choice."

"Understand what?" asked Emily, annoyed that James believed he was doing good.

"Emily, the Empire's going to enslave and execute innocent people," argued James, "I will not let innocent people die like that!"

"Let me tell you something James," hissed Emily angrily, "The rebels have been responsible for just as many deaths as the Empire."

James just huffed and walked away, he hoped Emily would see sense after this. Thomas, Edward and Lady were talking in the lounge, near the sofa, just as Emily came over.

"So what are you going to do with the prisoners?" asked Lady, "I don't have room for everyone."

"I think the only thing we can do, is cause enough chaos that by the time reinforcements arrive, most of the prisoners would have left," deduced Edward, he had spent nearly the whole time thinking over all the possible outcomes

"Me and Emily will try to make room for more people," said Lady, trying to help, "But even then we can't fit many here."

"Let's worry about that later," said Thomas, Lady gave him a smile, causing his cheeks to go slightly red.

"You just make sure you come back alive," said Emily, pulling Thomas into a hug, causing him to blush even more. Edward understood how close Thomas and Emily were, and he could see a little bit of jealousy building up in Lady's eyes.

When Emily let go of Thomas, his cheeks were glowing red and had a shy smile on his face. He cast a quick glance at Lady, who had a stern look on her face. Hoping to avoid an awkward situation, Thomas and Edward headed outside, joining the other rebels and disappearing into the snowy night. Lady and Emily both watched from the doorway.

Just before the sun set, the soldiers at the camp were preparing for the night and the harsh snow storm that was to occur. The camp consisted of several buildings surrounded by a tall fence, a web of roads laying in-between the various structures. There were several large areas of tarmac that were makeshift car parks. Along the fence, were watch towers, with bright searchlights in them, ready for when the night came. On one side of the camp was a large woodland, very close to the camp itself.

The soldiers marched around in white uniforms, patrolling the area. Since the prisoners had been transferred, the Empire had to up their number of patrols to prevent any attempts to escape. Most of the prisoners were extremely dangerous, many of them were captured rebels and traitors, and some had caused riots to break out. To prevent any riots from happening, the camps armoury had been stocked with a large supply of weapons to eliminate any rioters.

An officer wearing a white winter officer's uniform was walking on one of the roads; his uniform consisted of a white trench coat that reached his knees, over a pair of white trousers, a grey jumper and white shirt. On his head was a light grey beret with the black badge of the Imperial Army, and on his feet were black leather boots. The officer was walking towards a prison building, while constantly looking over his shoulder to make sure he wasn't being watched. The building was twenty metres long, with bars covering their windows and a large metal door at the end. Pulling on the handle, the officer opened the door and entered.

The officer was inside a small room, with a door cell opposite him, leading to the cells. On each side of him was a window, beside the cell door was a desk, with a computer and a mess of forms scattered across the top. There were two figures inside the room; one was a soldier on guard and the other was a young woman, with long dark red hair, green eyes, and freckles covering her face. The soldier wore standard winterized Imperial wear, while the woman wore a baggy dark green jumpsuit, and a large black metal collar around her neck, and held a sweeping brush in her hands.

"Sir," said the soldier with a salute, the officer returned the gesture, "What is it you need, sir?"

"I would like to speak to some of the prisoners, Sergeant," replied the officer in a heavy Scottish accent, he told the Sergeant the two cells he wanted to see

"As you wish, sir," said the Sergeant, he began pressing keys on the keyboard of the computer and the prison door opened, the Sergeant then handed over two keys from a rack behind him. "You! Escort the officer to the cell he wishes to see!" commanded the Sergeant while pointing at the woman.

The pair entered the prison block, prison cells lined up on both sides of the room. Inside each was a bunk bed, with figures wearing dirty grey prison jumpsuits, sleeping on them. The block was completely dark, with the only light coming from the office at the end. Eventually, the pair reached the cells they wanted. The cells were both next to each other; one had two prisoners, while the other had only one. The officer used one key to open the cell with the lone occupant and past the other key over to the woman, who used it to open the other cell.

The officer walked over to the figure and gently shook the sleeping occupant, while the woman woke the other two.

"Wake up Donal, time to go," whispered the officer, Donald groaned and turned as he opened his eyes.

"Aye, aye, I'm up," said Donald in a Scottish accent, "Ye took ye'r time getting 'ere Douggie."

Douglas just smiled down at his Brother. Both of them were twins, with short black hair, dark blue eyes and pale white skin. He looked over to see the others getting up in their cell.

"Ye okay there, Toby, Duck," said Douglas.

"Yeah, we're fine," said Toby, he had short brown hair, brown eyes and wore a dirty grey prison suit. Duck had had short blonde hair, green eyes and also wore a prison suit.

"An w'at about ye, Rosie?" asked Donald. Rosie brushed a few strands out of her eyes as she turned to face the Scottish twins.

"I'm ok, I just hope I'll be free from this hell soon," she replied, her voice sounding slightly nervous.

"Let's talk a 'bout t'is later," said Douglas quietly, the group of five walked down the corridor, trying to avoid waking up the sleeping prisoners. As they walked down, Douglas pulled out a pistol from the right pocket on his coat and a silencer from his left pocket. Douglas attached the silencer to the end of the pistol and walked into the prison blocks office.

"Was the prisoner..." began the soldier before Douglas shot him, the sergeant dropped to the floor as the silent bullets ripped into him.

The five escapees quickly walked towards the door, Douglas opened in gently, checking to make sure the area was clear. When it was, the escapees crept out of the building and snuck off into the shadows between buildings. Donald and Douglas had a plan ready if they were caught, and get them some time. So as they walked, Douglas gave Donald his pistol and Donald wrapped his left arm around his twin's neck, faking a hostage situation in an attempt to bluff past the soldiers.

Meanwhile, outside the perimeter of the camp, the rebels were hiding in a thick forest next to the camp. They were watching the fence and gate trying to find a way into the camp. The camp had three soldiers walking around the gate, as the watch towers flashed their search lights across the perimeter.

"Great," sighed James, "the one time we don't have wire cutters."

"Any Ideas on how we get in?" Henry asked Edward.

"Well, we could try going through the front, if we want to get killed that is," replied Edward.

"Does it look like we have much choice?" said Thomas, "If we're quick enough we could get through the entrance."

"And have the whole camp after us?" argued Edward.

Suddenly, there was a deafening sound of a siren wailing from the camp. Everyone watched as the searchlights changed their direction inwards and as the soldiers at the gate charged into the camp. Without bothering to question the circumstances, the group immediately abandoned their hiding spot and ran towards the gate, the sound of their boots crushing the snow underneath them drowned out by the sound of the howling wind, making it easier to reach the camp.

The rebels could see the soldiers that had been guarding the gate, had taken up defensive positions a few meters away, between two buildings on each side of the road.

"Guys, lets split up," said Thomas, "Gordon, Henry and James, you guys go find the armoury. Edward and Percy, we'll free the prisoners." Everyone nodded in agreement, and the rebels divided themselves into two groups.

Thomas, Edward and Percy were creeping in-between the buildings, avoiding the soldiers that were charging around thanks to the alarm system. As they cautiously ran down the road, they stopped when they heard shouting, followed by the sound of a gunshot, which sounded very close. The group crept alongside a long building that had grey walls and five windows on each side; they crouched down, and looked around the corner to see a squad of soldiers, with their backs to them, with more soldiers in front of them.

The Rebels could also see a group of five people; three of them looked like prisoners in their jumpsuits, one was wearing a labourer jumpsuit, and the last looked like an officer, wearing a white winter uniform. The Officer had been taken hostage by the tallest prisoner, who had pale skin and black hair, with a gun pointed at the soldiers

"Yet us go, or I'll blow this bastards brains all over the place," yelled the Prisoner, with a Scottish accent, with his arm wrapped around the officer's neck.

The group watched as an Officer wearing a similar uniform to the hostage stepped out of the crowd of soldiers. Everyone watched as he addressed the Prisoners.

"Your strategy of holding one of our high ranking officers at gun point is a rather logical move," he spoke, his voice sounded like praise, but with a hidden secret, "But it will be ineffective, for you see, everyone from the lowest trainee to the Supreme Commander himself, would willingly sacrifice their lives, in the name of the Empire and the Emperor himself."

The faces of the five figures immediately changed from one of aggression, to one of fear, and terror. Even the three Rebels could not believe that the Empire viewed its own soldiers as expendable, and now these Prisoners were going to suffer, this couldn't happen.

"Open Fire," commanded the Officer, the rebels jumped from their hiding spot and quickly barraged the soldiers with bullet fire, taking care to avoid the Prisoners. The soldiers dispersed to take cover from the incoming fire.

"THIS WAY!" shouted Percy, the Prisoners and Officer ran towards them. The soldiers had readied themselves and returned fire against their attackers. The rebels and prisoners took cover behind the building to avoid the bullets. As the officer ran round to join them, Thomas and Percy grabbed hold of him and forced him to the ground.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked Thomas, glaring down at the officer, before being pulled off by the prisoners.

"Get off him," yelled the tall Scottish prisoner, "He's me brother."

"What are you talking about?" asked Percy.

"Guys, we don't have time to argue about that," said Edward, who was firing on the large number of soldiers that were closing in on their position.

Suddenly, the atmosphere was a roar with gun fire as the soldiers were attacked by over two dozen figures, all of them were wearing dirty black jumpsuits and most of them were armed with weapons that appeared to have been stolen from the Diesels. The Soldiers of the Diesels Army battled the rioting prisoners, but despite their superior training and being better equipped, they were outnumbered.

The group watched three figures appeared on the battlefield, fighting their way through the garrison of Diesels. Thomas, Percy and Edward grinned as Henry, Gordon and James regrouped with them, all three of them had acquired new weapons, with Gordon and Henry bearing two new machine guns, that looked like they were the most modern weapon of their kind, while James was carrying a flamethrower, it consisted of two small tanks connected to a large middle, with a long rubber tube connecting it to a handheld igniter.

"All of the prisoners are free," boasted Gordon, "And we collected a few new toys."

"Who are these guys," asked Henry, pointing at the group of five.

"Me names Donal, and this is Douggie," said Donald, pointing at his brother dressed in the officer's uniform.

"My names Toby," said Toby, scratching his dark brown hair.

"Montague is my name, but people call me Duck," said Duck.

"I'm Rosie," said the red haired woman, "and who might you be?" She asked while smiling at Thomas, seemingly ignoring the others. This made Thomas uncomfortable and caused him blush.

"Well guys," said Gordon, "Since our new friends are fighting the Diesels, why don't we give them a hand?" He began caressing his new gun, as he spoke.

The Rebels broke from their hiding spot and joined the rioting prisoners in their battle against the Diesels. While their allies just focused on destroying the Diesels where ever they were, the Rebels targeted the camps armoury's, gaining access to the vast amounts of weaponry inside. And using it to destroy more of the Imperial Army.

Soon, the entire camp was ablaze, burning a bright orange in the dark night, as the revolting struck down their Diesel oppressors. For the Diesels, no matter how hard they fought, no matter how many prisoners they killed, there was always more to come, for every one of their own was lost, five prisoners were killed. The village garrison had been contacted and reinforcements were on the way, but with every soldier they lost, the harder it was to defend.

The remains of the Diesels in the camp had been divided in two, with one group fleeing the now burning camp for their lives, while the other desperately fighting a losing battle to hold on to what remained of their camp. But soon, the remainder of the Diesels had been destroyed and the Prisoners now had control of their base.

For the small band of Rebels, who sparked this great riot, this was probably their greatest victory, over the might of the Empire. Now they had supporters, a small army, and while not ready to battle the Empire head-on, it was enough to start a revolution.

Thomas and Edward were speaking to the mass crowd of Prisoners that had gathered on the camps parade square. They were hoping to inspire and convince the Prisoners to join them and start a revolution against the Empire that had ruined all of their lives. The others were scavenging from the buildings, gathering together what equipment and supplies they could find.

"THIS IS IT!" Thomas roared over the cheering crowds, "THIS IS THE DAY WE SHOW THE EMPIRE THAT WE WILL CHALLENGE THEM, WE WILL BATTLE THEM, AND WE WILL WIN!" The prisoners cheered in agreement.

"TONIGHT THE EMPIRE HAS ALREADY SUFFERED A DEFEAT," Edward roared this time, "AND THOUGH WE HAVE LOST MANY OF OUR OWN, WE WILL MAKE THE EMPIRE PAY FOR EVERYONE TO DIED WITH THIER LIVES." His message was meet with more roars.

Suddenly, the area was a roar with loud bangs as bright orange fireballs erupted in the corner of the camp; everyone fell silent and stared at the shocking sight. Then, the crack of gunfire swiftly followed, as a large army stormed their former camp. With units ranging from infantry to vehicles, they had launched an attack to reclaim what was left of the camp.

"DEFEND THE CAMP!" commanded Thomas; he wasn't going to let the Empire stamp out this victory. He was about to join this new rebellion in battle, Edward stopped him.

"What the fuck are you doing?" Edward yelled at Thomas, "We can't defeat them; we're outnumbered and poorly supplied."

"We're standing in base full of kit," argued Thomas, "We can repel these guys, I know we can."

"Come to your senses, Thomas," Edward spat, "If we stay we will be killed."

Thomas ignored his warnings and fled to join their allies against their attackers. Before Edward could stop him, the Imperial troops had flanked the rioters and were on a rampage against them, killing them in vast numbers. Edward reached cover and desperately fired a few shots to take out a few of the soldiers, before fleeing to find the others.

Thomas had joined the rioters in assaulting the Imperials on the road between several buildings. Despite their best effort, these were fresh troops, ready for an exhausting battle, while the rebels were worn and tired, they couldn't last another battle. Thomas however, wasn't going to give up, they had driven out the Diesels already, and they could do it again. But as the two sides fought, the tired rebels were being slaughtered. For every one they shot down, they lost roughly three of their own.

As Thomas shot another soldier, three jets of fire erupted from the Diesels ranks, consuming several rebels. Thomas watched in horror as the flamethrower soldiers burned their victims with their weapons. It was enough to shatter the morale of the remaining prisoners and many began to flee for safety, Thomas watched as they were merciless cut down by the empires soldiers. It soon, became too much for Thomas, he and the rest of the rebels immediately stopped firing and fled their enemy.

Thomas successfully slipped round a corner, pressed himself against the wall and watched as the prisoners he tried to save were ruthlessly gunned down. As he watched the brutal action, he heard someone whisper his name. Looking round he could see Percy, poking his head around the corner of the building opposite him. Without a seconds thought, Thomas over to his best friend. Upon reaching them, he saw his friends and the Prisoners, desperately fighting to hold off the incoming Diesels, they were right next to the fence, where part of it had been damaged by a buggy that had been driven half way through the fence. Thomas took a quick count of all the rebels that were there, including his friends and new five allies, there were twenty of them in total.

"Everyone," commanded Edward, "Into the forest!"

All of the rebels immediately pushed past the crashed buggy and ran into the woods, with the Imperials chasing them. As they did three of the escapees were killed as they tried to scramble through the fence. The remaining rebels were successfully able to vanish the shadows of the forest. As they charged through the thick mess of trees, they heard the sounds of gunshots and mortar fire, followed by the orange explosions destroying the trees around them; some of the remaining prisoners were unfortunate to be caught in the blasts.

Soon, all that remained was the six rebels, along with Toby, Duck, Donald, Douglas and Rosie. They were exhausted, they were dirty and they were scared. Everyone quickly rushed to take cover against the bases of the trees as the mortars and bullets rained down upon them. Edward and Percy grouped together, Henry, James and Gordon; hide against one of the larger trees. The twins hid together, Toby and Duck were hiding, and Thomas was with Rosie, trying to shield her from the blasts, while Rosie was enjoying having him at such close range.

Eventually, the gunshots and mortar fire died down. Everyone looked around to see that much of the woodland had been destroyed, with trees being ripped from their roots, blown apart, and craters scattered around the area. In the distance they could see bright lights in the background with distant voices. Realising that the Empire was searching for survivors, the eleven rebels immediately fled, trying to reach safety.

The weary eleven made their way through their way through the woodland, the dark night and the thick shadows blurred the trees together, making it difficult to see. They were tired, they were cold and they were disappointed, what they had had been a chance to build up an army to stand against the might of the Diesels, and now it was destroyed, with only five people free and alive. Though, despite their loss, they had saved some prisoners, and they could be happy they hadn't completely failed, but Thomas still felt guilty.

Finally, they were free of the woods and could see a large house ahead with only a few lights visible, standing next to a large barn. The six rescuers were relieved to finally reach safety, using what little strength they had, the six dashed towards the house, with their new allies following close behind.

Gordon was first to reach the door and immediately started banging against it, just as the others arrived. The door soon opened to reveal Lady standing the doorway, her face was a mix of concern and joy. The group poured in through the door, just as Emily came downstairs to join them.

"You guys all made it back," said Lady happily.

"What happened?" asked Emily, who wanted to know what had happened during their prison rescue.

Everyone's faces dropped, as Edward explained how the battle started off well, before completely backfiring in their faces. Lady and Emily listened closely, with great interest; they couldn't help but feel sorry for all those lives extinguished by the Empire. They were also introduced to Toby, Rosie, Duck, Donald and Douglas.

"So how did you end up under Diesel imprisonment?" asked Henry, looking at the five people they saved.

"Oh, that's a long story," said Toby, "And I'm too tired to think about."

"Well, me and Lady have prepared a place for you guys to rest," said Emily, walking to the back of the house, with everyone trying to follow.

Emily opened at the back of the staircase; Thomas was mentally kicking himself for not seeing the door before. Inside was another staircase that lead down into a dark cellar. Lady pushed past the group and was the first to descend down into the basement, before flicking a switch, brightening up the pitch black chamber. At the bottom, were a large number of boxes stacked up against the sides, while random objects were scattered around the area. In the centre were roughly half a dozen sleeping bags on top of some sleeping mats.

"Here," said Lady, pointing at the sleeping bags, "You guys can sleep here, sorry it isn't much."

"Ach, don't sweat it," said Donald, "This will do grand."

"Where did you guys find this stuff?" asked Edward, surprised at the fact this stuff just so happened to be here.

"We found them while searching down here," said Emily, "Rather Lucky, wouldn't you say."

"Yeah...lucky," Lady whispered, while blushing slightly.

"Err...not to be a problem, but," began Rosie, who was slightly nervous about something, "But what about me? I can't sleep here for obvious reasons."

"You could share with Emily," suggested Lady, James eyes widened in shock.

"But there won't be room for me, Emily and Rosie," argued James.

"Well then," replied Emily, feeling smug, "I'm guessing your gonna have sleep down here."

"But...but," stuttered James, as everyone left him, "Aw crap!"

Soon, everyone was disappeared to their respective beds, with James, quietly grumbling to himself. However, an hour after everyone had gone to sleep, there was still one person awake. Sitting at the table in the Kitchen, with a half empty bottle of alcohol in his hand, was Thomas. He couldn't stop thinking about all those lives that were lost, and he felt guilty over their deaths.

Suddenly, the door creaked open, Thomas turned to see Lady standing in the door way. She was wearing a purple dressing gown, over what appeared to be a slightly see through purple nightgown. Thankfully it was well covered.

"Thomas, what wrong?" asked Lady, in a concerned voice, sitting down opposite him.

"Nothing," Thomas blurted out bitterly.

"It's about the prison raid, isn't it?" Lady said, pressing the subject.

"Maybe," was all Thomas could say in reply.

"Don't think you can fool me," said Lady in a firmer voice, as if she had been offended.

"Ok, ok," said Thomas, holding his hands up defensively, "It's just that, I can't forget all those lives I let die in that fucking camp."

"Thomas, there was nothing you could of done," Lady reassured him, Thomas still looked miserable, "And don't forget, you saved five People today, and that means something."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," said Thomas, feeling slightly better.

As another past by, Thomas and Lady had been talking over their experiences. To Thomas, it helped make him feel at peace, and he could feel him and Lady developing a sort of bond between them.

"Hey, Lady," began Thomas, "You know I was in your room this morning, I saw you had a large collection of 'Angel' CD's." Lady smiled and her cheeks went slightly pink.

"You a fan of hers?" asked Lady. Thomas nodded his head in admittance, "A fan of her music, or her rather suggestive outfits?" she teased. Thomas immediately blushed and started to stutter, Lady giggled.

"It's ok, you're a man, why should I be surprised," Lady stated, "I personally, disliked those outfits, they made her seem more like an object than a person." Thomas nodded in agreement.

"Did you ever get to see her?" asked Lady.

"No, she disappeared, I would of loved to have met her," sighed Thomas.

"Wait here," said Lady, before quickly running out of the kitchen. Thomas sat where he was, completely confused. After a few minutes, Lady returned with what appeared to be a CD in her hand. She again sat down opposite Thomas, and handed him the CD. "This is for you."

Thomas looked down at it; it had a picture of Angel, wearing a white sleeveless top that stopped above her stomach, with a white skirt with a veil like cover that reach the floor. A white see through cape could be seen behind her, and again her face was covered by her hood. In the bottom right corner of the CD case, was purple writing, which read;

_To my dearest Fan,_

_I wish you the best of luck in life and that you succeed in your Goals._

_Love Angel._

"Lady, I can't take this," said Thomas, returning the CD to Lady.

"Keep it, it's a gift, I'm sure Angel would like you to have it," Lady insisted, Thomas smiled and looked down at the CD.

"Well, I'm off to bed," yawned Lady, "Goodnight Thomas."

"Goodnight Lady", Thomas replied, as she left the kitchen.

**Credit goes to:**

**Ultramewmewfan:-For being Beta reader, supplying ideas about Donald and Douglas, ideas about Duck, supplying Ideas about a love triangle, and a secret idea for Lady. Have a guess what it is.**

**Jriddle41:-For supplying ideas for Love triangle.**

**I must apologise for long time to update, but I have been busy. Again I'm sorry. I also feel this isn't a good chapter so let me know what you think.**

**Also, some people want me to change the love interest for Thomas, so here's what I'm going to do. I going to make the next chapter about Lady, Emily and Rosie competing for Thomas' love, and that's it. So I've decided to let you guys direct how this plays out, and I'll just assemble the ideas together. You can vote and submit ideas for this next chapter, either by messaging me, or by reviews, (I would prefer messages because this will allow me to discuss your ideas with you).**

**So if you want to change the love interest or keep it Lady, then let me know. I would rather like it if you gave hundreds of ideas to work with, because this gives me a load of options, so I can spend more time on this chapter and don't have to stretch these ideas out. I have a few ideas, but not many and they aren't that good. And guys, the more ideas you give me, the sooner I'll try to finish the chapter. Don't think your being a pain for suggesting an idea, if you have something you want to see, tell me and I'll do my best to put it in, THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS STUPID IDEAS!**

**Remember guys, this is your chapter, the more I get from you, the sooner this will update. Hope to hear from you soon. I'm hoping for a lot of ideas.**


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